Paying above a release clause sounds mad – Enzo Fernandez proved it isn’t

Robin Bairner

26 Jan 2026 14:44 GMT
4 min read

Chelsea’s €121m move for Enzo Fernandez in 2023 was unusual at the time, but PSG’s latest deal shows why paying above a release clause can sometimes make perfect sense.

Article continues under the video

The French club will take the unusual step of signing Dro from Barcelona for value above his release fee, but while this is a rare occurrence, it is certainly not unprecedented.

The young midfielder has a €6m release clause in his Barca deal, but it is expected that the Champions League winners will pay around €2m more than this in order to secure the future of the talented 18-year-old.

Current ETV

Enzo Fernández

M, DM (C)

Chelsea

Enzo Fernández

M, DM (C)

Chelsea

ETV Range

€73.4M - €89.7M

There are other high-profile examples of such deals. The most notable of these is Enzo Fernandez’s 2023 switch from Benfica to Chelsea. The Argentine had a €120m buyout fee in his deal, but the Blues paid €121m for the midfielder.

Similarly, Atletico Madrid also paid over the odds for Joao Felix when they snapped him up from the Lisbon club in 2019. They paid around €127m for the player, who had also had a €120m buyout fee.

While this policy of paying above a release fee may seem like madness, there are valid reasons for clubs forking out a little more.

Why Chelsea paid €121m for Enzo Fernandez

The Enzo Fernandez deal is a strong case in point, with Chelsea and Benfica both benefitting from the transfer agreement that was struck.

Chelsea were reticent to pay €120m as a lump sum to Benfica, which is what they would have been forced to do had they triggered the release deal.

Instead, the Premier League club held discussions with the Portuguese over a more favourable payment plan and were prepared to pay €1m more in the process to avoid that issue.

This was a similar tactic as the one that Atleti had been forced to take with Joao Felix four years earlier as they prised him away from Benfica.

Why are PSG paying above Dro’s release clause?

PSG’s reasoning for paying above Dro’s release fee is a little more nuanced, however.

For the Ligue 1 champions, splashing out just €6m on a player is no problem. But there were implications to the deal that would have complicated matters.

To release a player from a contract with a La Liga team, the funds need to be first paid to the player who then buys himself out of his own contract. This means that PSG would pay Dro €6m to compensate Barca from leaving his deal with the club. In turn, this has implications for the French side.

The tax authorities in France would see this as a payment of employment, according to L’Equipe, and tax would be charged on it. With the tax regime harsh, this would likely drive the price above the €10m mark.

On top of this, PSG were eager to retain positive relations with Barca. The club’s have had a fractious past but in recent times the issues have thawed. In order to maintain the sense of goodwill, they wanted to come to an agreement with the Catalans.

As such, with a fee around the €8m mark, Barcelona get a little more money, PSG pay a little less and the relations between the club remain cordial.

A rare event

In practise, it is rare for clubs to pay above a release fee for a player but when it happens, there is usually sound reason behind their thinking.

Usually, this relates to the payment schedule, but in PSG’s case it has been done for practical reasons that actually save them money and keep relations with Barcelona strong.

The FootballTransfers app

Check out FootballTransfers' new app for all of football's big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.

The FootballTransfers app is available on Google Play and in the Apple App Store. Download here:

•Google Play

•App Store