Ilaix Moriba has officially made the move to RB Leipzig, and thus marking the end of his 11-year spell at Barcelona.
The Guinean-born midfielder first started playing for Espanyol as a youngster in 2008, before making the move to Barcelona two years later.
RB Leipzig had already come to personal terms with the Catalan side to sign the 18-year-old and have officially settled on a 16 million euro transfer that may rise to 22 million euros with bonuses.
The deal will reportedly last four years, with the option of an extra year.
Barcelona had previously hoped to keep the young star in their ranks, but after several contract disputes, the player has been allowed to leave.
Moriba’s contract was set to expire in 2022, but after trying to negotiate a contract extension, no agreement was able to be reached.
The Blaugrana side felt his agents were demanding too much salary-wise, which left Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman rather stern in a press conference when asked about the young talent.
My advice to a player of 18-years-old is that money isn’t the most important thing”, said Koeman. “The most important important thing is playing games.”
After interest from several clubs including Tottenham, Chelsea and Real Madrid, Ilaix is set to continue his career with Leipzig after the Bundesliga side have since said goodbye to midfielder Marcel Sabitzter as he makes his move to Bayern Munich.
