Barcelona have beat their European rivals in signing young Brazilian starlet Gustavo Maia, according to reports in the Sun.
Interest in the 19-year-old youngster was high across Europe with Premier League clubs looking to sign the player, according to the Sun.
The young Brazilian forward is yet to feature for his current club Sao Paulo but according to the Sun, Barcelona have signed the player for an initial fee of £1m with potential add-ons worth up to £3m
Maia has represented Brazil at the U16 and U17 level and was promoted to the Sao Paulo first-team squad in 2020. However, the Coronavirus crisis has delayed his debut.
The young starlet performed admirably in the Copa Sao Paulo de Juniores scoring three goals in seven games before Barcelona came calling.
Maia can play out wide and as a central striker and has been touted as a player to watch.
As it stands, Barcelona’s initial fee ensures the Catalan club holds majority ownership of the young Brazilian with Sao Paulo retaining a 30 per cent stake in the player’s ownership.
Speaking about Maia’s deal with Barcelona, Sao Paulo’s director of football Alexandre Passaro told ESPN Brazil via Diario AS as cited by the Sun: ”We have a purchase option if Barcelona want to buy him during this season.”
”His total release clause is 4.5million euros with a further 3.5m euros to pay.”
”The deal is structured in this way to prevent losing players in the middle of a domestic season.”
At the moment, Maia’s joining date with Barcelona is yet to be revealed.