Where are they now? The 7 players Barcelona sold alongside Ousmane Dembele in 2023
Barcelona sold Ousmane Dembele to PSG in 2023 for a fee of around £42million, but what happened to the other seven players that the Catalan side sold that summer?
While the Frenchman showed glimpses of quality at Barcelona, he never quite hit top gear. Fast forward to 2025 and he’s now playing the best football of his career to date for Luis Enrique’s side.
We’ve revisited Barcelona’s transfer business from the summer of 2023 and have checked up on the other seven players that the club let go that summer.
Sergio Busquets
After 18 years with the club, Busquets called it quits on his Barcelona career upon his contract expiring at the end of 2022-23.
While the Spaniard still had the technical skills to play at the top level, he decided that he was ready for a fresh challenge elsewhere.
“It has been an unforgettable journey,” he said upon leaving the club. “I always dreamed of playing with this shirt and at this stadium. Reality has exceeded all my dreams.”
Now aged 36, the Spaniard is still strutting his stuff in MLS for Inter Miami alongside plenty of his former Barcelona teammates.
Jordi Alba
The Spaniard still had one year remaining on his contract with Barcelona, but the club agreed to terminate his deal a season early.
That allowed him to make the switch to Inter Miami where he’s linked up with the likes of Busquets, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.
While the 35-year-old is no longer at the very peak of his powers, he sure still knows how to whip in a cross from the left-hand side.
In 54 games for Inter Miami, Alba has already racked up an impressive 26 goal contributions.
Samuel Umtiti
The Frenchman still had another three years to run on his contract with Barcelona, but the club reached an agreement to release him early.
Given he only made one appearance during his final season at the club, his departure in 2023 seemed inevitable.
The defender ended up joining Lille on a free transfer, although injuries have seriously hampered him over the last few years.
As a result of requiring knee surgery, the 31-year-old has only made 13 appearances for the French club over the last season and a half.
Alex Collado
The attacking midfielder had an exemplary record for Barcelona B, but he never quite made the transition into the senior squad.
After making just two first-team appearances for Barcelona, the club cashed in on the youngster when Real Betis came calling.
The 25-year-old is still on the books at Real Betis today, although he’s yet to make an appearance for the club, having spent the last few years out on loan.
He’s currently playing out in the Saudi Pro League for Al-Kholood where he’s scored five goals this season.
Nico Gonzalez
Barcelona received a fee of around £7million when selling Gonzalez to Porto, although his market value has skyrocketed since then.
After developing well in Portugal, Manchester City recently dropped £50million to lure the 23-year-old to the Etihad.
Barcelona reportedly banked around £11million thanks to a sell-on clause they inserted in his contract, but you can’t help but think that Porto ended up with the better end of the deal.
It’s still early days for Gonzalez at City, but the future looks to be bright for the former La Masia star.
QUIZ: Can you name Barcelona’s 25 most expensive sales in history?
Franck Kessie
After spending just one year with the club, Barcelona flipped Kessie for a quick profit when Al-Ahli came calling.
The Saudi club spent around £10.5million to snap him up in a deal which seemed to suit all parties.
As per Capology’s figures, the Ivory Coast international received a hefty wage increase when joining Al-Ahli, as he’s currently said to be earning £223,000 per week.
Abde Ezzalzouli
Since leaving Barcelona in 2023, the Moroccan winger has continued to be a live wire for Real Betis.
Despite only starting in 18 league matches this season, only eight players have completed more successful dribbles than Ezzalzouli has in La Liga.
Still just 23 years old, we reckon the Real Betis star still has the best years of his career ahead of him yet.
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