September 10: Fermin Lopez, Once Targeted by Chelsea for €40 Million, Is Now a Non-Sale Asset for Barcelona

In the summer of 2025, Chelsea submitted an offer of around €40 million for Fermin Lopez, but Barcelona did not let him leave. One year later, he had scored 4 goals and provided 2 assists in the first four La Liga rounds, including 1 goal and 2 assists against Valencia, turning the 5-0 scoreline into a personal showcase. Looking at it now, the €40 million figure no longer resembles a transfer offer, but more like a price tag from another era.

As the 2025 summer transfer window was nearing its end, Romano reported that Chelsea offered €40 million for Fermin, which Barcelona rejected. At that time, Fermin had not yet fully combined penalty-area finishing and the final pass; from the outside, he looked like a La Masia midfielder capable of late runs, pressing, and scoring. Barcelona kept him not as a gamble on the future, but because they felt he could not be sold at that price.

In May 2026, during La Liga matchday 37, Barcelona hosted Betis and Fermin was substituted late in the first half after feeling discomfort in his right foot. Further examinations confirmed a fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his right foot, requiring surgery, with a medically estimated recovery period of around 4 to 8 weeks. The timing was too close to the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and he directly missed Spain's squad selection. He had previously appeared for the senior national team and had remained on preliminary lists, but suddenly became a spectator.

He did not slowly search for form at the start of the new season. In the first round of the 2026-27 La Liga season, Barcelona won 5-0 away against Elche, with Fermin scoring twice. In round two, Barcelona beat Athletic Club 2-0 at home and he scored again. In just the opening two matches, he made late runs into the box for goals very clear: he did not overcomplicate possession or wait for the rhythm; once he reached position, he wanted the ball.

In round three, Barcelona defeated Rayo Vallecano 5-2 at home. Public match reports focused more on Raphinha and Yamal's consecutive goals to complete the comeback, while Fermin did not add further goals or assists. That did not affect his overall first-four-round record. After four matches, he had 4 goals and 2 assists, playing around 281 minutes, meaning he created a goal contribution in less than half an hour on average.

The fourth round away at Mestalla against Valencia fully showed his development. In the sixth minute, Fermin delivered a chipped pass from the right, and Yamal ran into the edge of the six-yard box before lifting a left-footed shot to make it 1-0. In the 22nd minute, Gordon laid the ball back inside the box and Fermin finished with a first-time shot for 2-0. Within 25 minutes, he had both a goal and an assist, becoming one of the players in that La Liga season to record a goal and an assist within the opening 25 minutes.

In the 39th minute, he performed a step-over move near the edge of the box and struck the far post with a low shot. In the 49th minute, he received the ball on the right and squared it across for Raphinha to score into an empty net, making it 3-0. In the 79th minute, Pedri and Olmo combined with a one-two, and Pedri scored a low shot near the penalty spot for 4-0. In the 84th minute, Olmo played a diagonal pass from the edge of the box and Yamal finished to score twice and make it 5-0.

Fermin left the match after 75 minutes, recording 4 shots with 3 on target and completing 3 of 5 dribble attempts. He was named the best player of the match by La Liga's official evaluation. The statistics show 1 goal and 2 assists, but chipped passes, cutbacks, finishing, and dropping back into the box all appeared in his performance. He looked neither like a midfielder who only benefits from easy chances nor a pure creative No. 10.

His Transfermarkt value trajectory shows how the market has reassessed him: around €50 million in June 2025, €60 million in October, €70 million in December, and raised to €100 million in March 2026. In April 2026, Transfermarkt's attacking midfielder rankings listed Fermin at €110 million, in the same tier as Wirtz and Palmer; another June version listed him at €100 million, with Rogers around €80 million to €90 million. These figures do not equal Barcelona's asking price, but they show one point: buying a mature Fermin for €40 million is no longer within the negotiation range.

Flick's midfield does not lack possession players. Pedri controls the tempo, Gavi presses and counter-presses, and Olmo links play in tight spaces. Fermin handles another role: charging from the second line into the box, receiving layoffs, through balls, and attacking second phases himself. Against Valencia, his sixth-minute assist came through a vertical chipped pass, his 49th-minute assist came through a short cutback from the byline, and his 22nd-minute goal came from a central penalty-area run. The three assist patterns were different, and the recipients were teammates already positioned in dangerous areas, such as Yamal, Gordon, and Raphinha.

If Barcelona had sold him for €40 million in 2025, the club would have gained cash but could not have found a player of the same type. He has now renewed until 2031, and different media reports have mentioned release clauses of €500 million and €1 billion; the essence is that Barcelona do not intend to sell proactively. Even with financial pressure, they would not put a player with 4 goals and 2 assists in the first four rounds, capable of playing as a false No. 10 or a box-to-box No. 8, on the market for inquiries.

There was no visible storyline during the period when he missed the World Cup. After returning to club football, he scored twice against Elche in round one, once against Athletic Club in round two, and scored one goal with two assists against Valencia in round four. Completing a goal and an assist within the first 25 minutes and hitting the post with a step-over move in the 39th minute showed that after injury he was not relying only on instinctive runs; his decision-making became clearer: first identify teammates' positions, then decide whether to chip, cross, or shoot.

Barcelona scored 17 goals and conceded 2 in the first four rounds, with Fermin involved in 6 goals. This number does not prove he is more important than Yamal or Raphinha; it only shows that Flick's attack has gained a variable who does not always follow possession-based logic. While others search for angles outside the box, he directly seeks contact points inside it; while others wait for the defensive line to shift, he uses late runs to tear open horizontal defensive structures vertically.

The Fermin of the €40 million era represented a potential-value offer. The Fermin of September 2026, with 4 goals and 2 assists in the first four rounds, 1 goal and 2 assists in the match against Valencia, a Transfermarkt value around €100 million, and a contract until 2031, is no longer the same negotiation subject.

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