Ranking the 5 biggest sales in Barcelona history
Among many things, Barcelona are famous for cultivating talented young footballers.
Many legendary names like Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta all came through the club's fabled La Masia academy before achieving great success with the senior team.
But in more recent years, this philosophy has faded, with Blaugrana constantly roping in players from other teams on expensive transfers.
Not all of them have proved to be bang for the buck, but either way, many of these pricey buys have eventually helped the club recoup most of their money.
So with that in mind, let's look at the five most expensive sales in Barcelona's history:
Note: All transfer fees shown have been taken from Transfermarkt.
#5 Paulinho - €42 million (Guangzhou Evergrande)
This has to be the strangest transfer in Barcelona's modern history.
Paulinho, a Premier League flop, moved to China with Guangzhou Evergrande to resurrect his career and became a star in the Chinese Super League with his blistering exploits.
The Catalans then came calling for his services in 2017 for €40 million and the Brazilian made a successful return to Europe, scoring nine times and making three assists in 21 league starts.
However, the following summer, just a year after arriving at Camp Nou, Paulinho shocked the world with a return to Guangzhou. The deal was initially a loan and then became a permanent transfer of €42 million in January 2019.
Last month, he joined Saudi Arabia outfit Al-Ahli.
#4 Alexis Sanchez - €42.5 million (Arsenal)
Barcelona's forgotten hero Alexis Sanchez is among the most value-for-money signings in the club's recent history.
Roped in from Udinese for €26 million in 2011, the Chilean was just an up-and-coming 22-year-old attacker back then. But the pressure and responsibilities that came with gracing the fabled Blaugrana colors didn't bog him down.
Instead, Sanchez used the platform to turn himself into a star, scoring 46 times and assisting 37 more goals in 141 games in all competitions across three years.
His performances made him a highly sought-after player in the day, with Arsenal splurging a mammoth €42.5 million for his services in 2014, making him their third-most expensive player back then.