Transfer market: Who sells better? Barcelona or Real Madrid?
A comparison of the two clubs' sales during the last five seasons
Real Madrid have brought in much more money than rivals Barcelona
The transfer window is upon us and teams are looking to do business, be that selling, buying or loaning players. For a while now a theory has existed that Real Madrid are better than Barcelona when it comes to selling their players.
And comparing both clubs recent details, there's evidence to suggest that is true. During the last five seasons, Madrid have brought in 129.3 million euros more than Barça. In contrast, they have spent 27 million euros more.
From 2012-13 until 2016-17, Barcelona have made 182.5 million in sales, an average of 36.5 per season. Madrid, meanwhile, have sold 311.8 million euros worth of players in the same period, an average of 62.3 million per year.
BUSINESS PENDING
Barça have done some OK business, such as buying Alexis Sanchez for 26 million euros from Udinese and selling him to Arsenal for 42.5 million euros. They also did well so sell Cesc Fabregas for 33 million euros, almost the same as the 34 million they paid for him.
The sales of academy players Thiago and Pedro were good in some ways for the club, given they had not invested a fee in either player. The former left for Bayern Munich for 25 million euros in 2013 and the latter for Chelsea for 27 million euros in 2015.
Madrid, meanwhile, sold Angel Di Maria for 75 million euros to Manchester United after signing him from Benfica for 33 million. They also sold Mesut Ozil for 47 million euros after paying just 18 million euros for him. There was also good business with Gonzalo Higuain, a player signed from River Plate for 12 million euros and flogged to Napoli for 39 million euros.
However, Madrid's business hasn't always been good. For example, they paid 65 million euros for Kaka and he ended up leaving for free. Barça, in this same category, signed Dani Alves for 29.5 million euros but lost him to Juventus on a free transfer.
Comparison of Barcelona and Real Madrid's signings from 2012-13 until 2016-17:
Las ventas del FC BarcelonaCreate your own infographics
Las ventas del Real MadridCreate your own infographics
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