Noah Darvich’s move from SC Freiburg to top Spanish club FC Barcelona is perfect. The captain of the German U17 national team has been hotly traded with the Catalans for days.
SC Freiburg and FC Barcelona confirmed the deal on Tuesday. In the official announcements, however, one fact catches the eye that is quite astonishing: while the Breisgauers explicitly mention that “the agreement has been kept confidential” about the contents of the contract, the Spaniards give specific figures.
Accordingly, Darvich’s contract ends in the summer of 2026. A fixed mega-transfer of one billion euros is anchored in the working paper. Particularly exciting, however: Barca names the sum that the SCF collects for the 16-year-old midfielder: 2.5 million euros.
Fixed fees are mandatory in Spanish professional football. The enormous sum in the Darvich case, while striking, is far from isolated. It is not uncommon for Spanish clubs to choose astronomical sums in order to make it practically impossible to say goodbye without their own say.
Darvich is initially expected to play for Barca’s reserve team in the third-tier Primera Federacion. In Freiburg, there would probably have been more appearances in the 3rd division for SC Freiburg II in 2023/24.
FC Bayern is also said to have shown interest
“We showed Noah, his family and those around him what we believe to be the best sporting path and prospects at SC, unfortunately their decision went in a different direction,” said Freiburg sports director Klemens Hartenbach: “We hope that their expectations at FC Barcelona – we wish you all the best. The doors in Freiburg aren’t slammed, they’re just ajar.”
Freiburg coach Christian Streich had already critically assessed the upcoming transfer of one of Germany’s greatest talents. “The boys have countless role models in financial terms and in everything,” he said on Saturday: “When a 16-year-old sees what’s going on in football all the time, how is he supposed to keep a clear head?”
Darvich, who was also previously traded at Bayern Munich, most recently led the German U17 selection to the European Championship title. He scored two goals and the Freiburg native scored four more goals.