The 11 players with a €1billion release clause: Yamal, Mbappe, Vinicius…
Barcelona and Real Madrid get around Spain’s mandatory release by protecting their top stars with a €1billion release clause that would be beyond even Saudi Pro League clubs.
Some of the best players in the world – and others very much not so – have gigantic clauses in their contracts.
Here are the 11 players who reportedly have a €1billion release clause in their contracts.
Pedri (Barcelona)
The midfielder set Barcelona’s precedent with a record €1billion when he signed his a contract extension in October 2021.
After putting his injury woes behind him, Pedri has been back to his best as a key cog in 2024-25’s treble chase under Hansi Flick.
Arguably the best midfielder in world football right now, in January Barcelona tied down his future to 2030. His release clause hasn’t been touched, unlike Ronald Araujo who appears to have invited interest by reducing his from €1billion down to €65million in his latest extension.
Ferran Torres (Barcelona)
When the forward left Manchester City for Barca in December 2021, he signed a five-year contract with a buyout clause of €1billion.
You imagine that in reality Barcelona would listen to offers worth a very small fraction of that, but he’s certainly had his uses as a squad player this season with 16 goals from limited opportunities.
Gavi (Barcelona)
Barcelona’s homegrown starlet followed Pedri’s lead and signed a deal running to 2030 – with a new €1billion release clause.
Unlike Pedri, he isn’t a regular starter this season but he’s evidently seen as a big part of the club’s future.
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)
Barcelona signed their prized asset to the maximum three years for a 16-year-old in 2023. Even back then they recognised his potential and made sure he wouldn’t be going anywhere with a €1billion release clause.
He’s now approaching the final 12 months of his current deal and you imagine he’ll be on for a considerable pay rise given his remarkable rise.
But Barca need not fear losing him, given he’s expressed his desire to remain with his boyhood club.
“I don’t know when [the contract will be signed], but I believe it will be soon,” Yamal told CNN in January.
“At the end of the day, Barça is the club of my life. I hope to renew my contract with them and to be with them for as long as possible.
“I want to play in the Spanish league. I want to play for Barça, and yes, I will renew my contract. I will.”
Ansu Fati (Barcelona)
Barcelona would have not unjustifiably hoped that Fati would’ve gone on Yamal’s trajectory to the very top when he broke through as an outrageously exciting 16-year-old back in 2019.
His gigantic release clause is testament to the potential the club saw in him.
Unfortunately things have gone a different way, with Fati appearing to lose his dynamism after suffering a series of injury. A loan move to Brighton failed to kickstart his career and he now finds himself on the fringes of Flick’s first-team squad.
The latest reports from Spain suggest that Fati has told his agent to find him a new club this summer. Leaving on a free looks the likeliest outcome at this point.
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Jules Kounde (Barcelona)
It’s recently been reported that Arsenal and Chelsea are chasing the versatile France international’s signature.
But Barcelona are in a strong negotiating position. He remains contracted in Catalonia until 2027 and included the increasingly commonplace €1billion release clause when they signed him from Sevilla in 2022.
Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)
The Brazilian signed his last contract at the Bernabeu in 2022. It was announced in 2023, and includes a €1billion clause.
The Athletic have since reported that he’s his representatives had held discussions over a possible move to the Saudi Pro League, but that negotiations are underway for a new contract that will keep him at Madrid beyond 2027.
Given the addition of Mbappe and Madrid’s often dysfunctional-looking displays this season, you wonder if it might actually be beneficial for the club to cash in with his value at its highest.
Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
A rare €100million investment that looks worth it, Madrid included the largely symbolic release clause in the England international’s contract when he was signed from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2023.
He’s under contract with Real Madrid until 2029 and it’s difficult to envisage him going anywhere else anytime soon.
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Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid)
Los Blancos’ latest Galactico was always going to have the classic sky-high release clause factored into his deal following his long-awaited arrival from Paris Saint-Germain.
At least that’s according to Spanish outlet COPE. We have no reason to doubt it.
Signed as a free agent, the World Cup winner signed a five-year deal running to 2029. You can only imagine Florentino Perez’s face if a club was audacious enough to try and prise him away now. Never gonna happen.
Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid)
Madrid believed they were signing one of the top prospects in European football when they signed Camavinga as a teenager from Rennes back in 2021.
His versatility has certainly proven useful, while his early promise earned him a bumper payrise in a bumper new contract in 2023 with a new release clause that rose to €1billion.
But now there are question marks over how he’s developed and whether he’ll be the future of the Los Blancos midfield after Toni Kroos and Luka Modric’s departures. It wouldn’t be a total shock now if he’s offloaded in the next year or two.
Rodrygo (Real Madrid)
Rodrygo signed his last contract extension back in 2023, a five-year deal running through to 2028.
Last season he sparked speculation he’d be leaving, but he quickly reassured that his quotes were taken out of context and he remains committed to Los Blancos.
“The video was taken advantage of, considering the moment, with the Champions League final coming up,” he explained.
“If you watch the video, the interview is all cut, it doesn’t show the end of the interview. When asked if I’ll spend my whole life at Real Madrid, I said I don’t have a way of knowing that. I said I want to be here forever, but I don’t have a way of knowing.”