According to AS, FC Barcelona failed with a late attempt in the summer transfer window to sign Andres Vallecillo from Racing Santander.
The newly-promoted La Liga club stood firm when the Blaugrana made a late approach for the youngster, insisting that he could only leave if his release clause was paid in full.
The Catalan club were prepared to offer around €300,000 for the youngster, but Racing refused to negotiate and Barça ultimately turned to Stuttgart midfielder Mirza Catovic instead.
Move made on August 30
On 30 August, Barcelona made an approach for Vallecillo, a midfielder born in Santander in 2006 who has developed under Ezequiel Loza at Rayo Cantabria, the club’s reserve team.
The La Liga champions wanted the 20-year-old starlet to reinforce their reserve team, Barça Atletic.
¡𝐇𝐨𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐬 𝐯𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐫 𝐦á𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬! 🥰
Queremos felicitar a Andrés Vallecillo (@vallecillo_arce), canterano verdiblanco, por su debut con el primer equipo del @realracingclub en la #CopaDelReyMAPFRE 👏
El centrocampista, natural de Oruña, es además… pic.twitter.com/dXzG3w4wOp
— C.F. Vimenor (@cfvimenor) October 28, 2025
As such, they were prepared to pay a fee of around €300,000, but Racing rejected the proposal outright. Their position was clear: the release clause had to be paid or there would be no deal.
Racing want to keep Vallecillo
Vallecillo is a player Racing Santander first-team manager Jose Alberto likes. The 20-year-old starlet has spent almost the entirety of pre-season training with the senior team and has continued to work with them this week.
Barcelona had presented him with a concrete opportunity to join Barça Atletic, but the Cantabrian club made sure he stayed.
Instead, the Catalans completed the signing of Mirza Catovic from Stuttgart.
Racing, meanwhile, remain convinced of Vallecillo’s potential. The club’s confidence in the youngster is reflected in their intention to renew his contract.
Vallecillo’s current deal runs until 30 June 2027, but Racing want to extend it and continue his development within the club.
The decision to reject Barcelona’s offer therefore fits Racing’s broader strategy. While the club are prepared to facilitate departures when young players have no realistic route into the first team, they are unwilling to lose players they believe can still contribute.
Vallecillo happens to be the second player Barcelona failed to sign from Racing Santander this summer after not reaching an agreement for Jorge Salinas.
The left-back would have been a signing for the first team, but Racing held firm on their demand of his €16 million release clause being met – something Barça were unwilling to do.
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