Atlanta United: Ezequiel Barco sale must come at right time
Ezequiel Barco is reportedly attracting interest from Serie A side, Napoli. Should a sale be productive for Atlanta United, it must come at the right time.
Atlanta United entered Major League Soccer with a very clear business model — and what so far has been a very successful business model: to buy young, talented South American talent, provide them with playing time and development, and then sell them to Europe for a substantial profit.
The first through the door, and successfully out of the other side, was Miguel Almiron, who was sold to Newcastle United in the winter window.
Almiron was signed in Atlanta’s first offseason for $8 million. He then earned a total of approximately $3.8 million. They then sold him for $27 million. After the MLS share is taken out of the equation, it leaves the Five Stripes with a rather healthy profit of around $11.3 million. And that all comes with an MLS Cup on top.
And now they are trying to repeat the trick with several other young South Americans. Chief among them is Ezequiel Barco, who actually broke Atlanta’s club record a year after Almiron’s arrival, signed for an MLS-best $15 million.
After a turbulent first year in Georgia, Barco has found his feet this season, excelling under new head coach Frank de Boer. He has scored four goals and provided one assist in eight appearances. He then enjoyed an extremely productive U20 World Cup, scoring twice in four matches. His performances have reportedly attracted interest from Serie A side Napoli, a team that Barco would surely love to test himself at.
For Atlanta, though, if they have to sell they must make sure that they do so at the right time. The timely nature of the Almiron sale was nearly scuppered by the hesitation to accept a lower fee. It came down to the wire, but, eventually, they were able to negotiate for a decent price, and so, not only did they maximise his value but they also won the MLS Cup, in large part because they held onto Almiron for an extra half-season instead of selling him in the summer.
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The same dilemma now presents itself once more with Barco: sell in the summer when European teams are in their offseason and are more willing to splash the cash or wait til the offseason, gain an extra half-season of his services, which could well lead to a second-straight MLS Cup, but risk having to sell him for a lower fee — that is if Barco, like Almiron, has little intention of staying beyond two years.
There is not really a right answer to this question, not without hindsight. It is impossible to say what Atlanta could have gotten for Almiron had they sold in the summer. Similarly, it is impossible to say whether they would have won the MLS Cup without him. The same uncertainty now lies with Barco.
One thing is clear: Atlanta must recoup a greater fee for Barco than they did Almiron. First, they spent $7 million more in signing him. Further, Independiente inserted a 30% sell-on clause into the deal, meaning that Atlanta will only pocket 70% of the fee. To make a profit, they will need to look closer to $30 million, if not more.
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Atlanta United’s business model has so far proven to be successful. But if they want to continue, they must, at some point, sell Barco successfully, and to do that, they must master the calendar.