The sale of Pablo Torre to RCD Mallorca, finalized this summer for 4.95 million euros, has ended up in LaLiga's offices. Racing de Santander, the Cantabrian midfielder's home club, has filed a complaint against FC Barcelona, considering that the operation was intentionally designed to avoid paying an economic capital gain that, according to their interpretation, they were entitled to.
A deal that had gone virtually unnoticed in the summer market has now acquired a strong institutional and legal component, with direct accusations of "bad faith" from the Racing president, Manolo Higuera, towards the Barça club.
The Origin of the Conflict Between Racing and Barça
When Barça signed Pablo Torre in 2022 from Racing de Santander, both entities agreed to a series of financial variables. Among them, a key clause: the Cantabrian club would receive a capital gain if the player was transferred for an amount equal to or greater than 5 million euros.
The problem arises because the sale to Mallorca was closed for 4.95 million, meaning 50,000 euros below the threshold set in the contract. That difference has been enough for Racing to not receive any compensation, something they consider deliberate.
Racing's Stance: "An Operation Carried Out in Bad Faith"
The president of Racing, Manolo Higuera, publicly confirmed that the club has sent a burofax to FC Barcelona and that the conflict is already before LaLiga's arbitration board, as stipulated in the contract signed at the time.
"The contract stipulates that LaLiga's arbitration board will resolve the conflict, and we are claiming what we believe to be an economic right regarding this transfer. It is an operation carried out in bad faith to harm a third party," Higuera stated.
From Santander, they consider that the real value of the operation is higher than the official price communicated, and they maintain that Barça has used contractual mechanisms to avoid paying the capital gains tax.
The Role of the Buyback Option and Future Rights
One of Racing's central arguments is that Barcelona retained 50% of the player's rights, in addition to agreeing to a buy-back option set at 10 million euros and a percentage of a future sale from Mallorca.
For the Cantabrian club, that buy-back clause reflects Barça's true valuation of **Pablo Torre**, so they understand that the transfer cannot truly be considered less than the 5 million agreed upon.In addition, Racing maintains that, in the event of a future sale of the footballer by Mallorca, the capital gain should correspond to them and not to the Barcelona club
The Variables of Pablo Torre's Original Transfer
When Racing sold Pablo Torre to Barça in 2022, the agreement included up to 20 million euros in variables. However, only the conditions necessary for the Cantabrian club to receive 1 million euros were met.
That amount was activated because the midfielder played more than 46 minutes in at least 10 official matches with the first team of FC Barcelona. The rest of the variables, linked to sporting performance and continuity, were not met.
FC Barcelona's Stance
According to the latest information, Barça is not worried about the complaint filed by Racing. In the Barça club, they understand that the operation strictly adheres to what was signed in the contract and that at no time was the minimum figure reached that would activate the capital gain.
From Barcelona's camp, they insist that the transfer fee was the one agreed upon with Mallorca and that the additional clauses —buy-back and future rights— are not part of the fixed sale amount.