Barcelona sign Martin Braithwaite from Leganes in €18 million move

The 28-year-old has signed a contract with the club until 2024 and could make his debut as soon as Saturday but will not be allowed to play in the Champions League. The move comes after weeks of speculation with the La Liga giants also linked with moves for Alaves’ Lucas Perez, Getafe’s Angel Rodriguez and Martin Braithwaite with Barcelona eventually settling on the latter.

The move, however, has come under immense criticism because Leganes are in the relegation zone and have been denied the chance to sign a replacement. This will leave the club without a proper striker but Leganes Sporting Director Martin Ortega went on to admit that Barcelona made no mistake and they cannot hold it against them but the club hopes that a move will be sanctioned for a replacement.

"Barca have acted in the correct manner. They contacted us Monday, and the only option was to pay the clause. We cannot hold it against them as they used the rules which currently exist. But we don't think the rules are fair. We hope that the federation will allow us to sign a player. We will try everything to be able to do this,” said Ortega reported ESPN.