After a month of intense speculation, Ferran Torres left Manchester City for Barcelona on Tuesday.
The £46.7m deal, which could rise to £55.2m with add-ons, brought a sudden and unexpected end to Ferran's short career at City. The 21-year-old Spaniard only joined Pep Guardiola's side in the summer of 2020, and after taking a season to find his feet, had looked promising as a striker.
From the outside, selling a talented young player seems an odd thing to do. Yet once Ferran's desire to leave was clear and Barca had put a serious offer on the table, City were never going to stand in his way. The move suited the player and City have doubled their money on an attacker they spent £20.7m on just 18 months ago. Everybody wins, right?
The initial fee has led to some accusing City of letting Barca off the hook, just as they did with Bayern Munich when Leroy Sane left in 2020.
Only time will tell who got the better end of the deal. Yet Guardiola and Txiki Begiristain, the latter City's director of football and both men with Barca in their hearts, will be acutely aware that the sale of Ferran has strengthened a direct European rival.
Barca may be enduring a tough period at present, as they languish 18 points off the top of LaLiga and prepare for a Europa League play-off having dropped out of the Champions League.
But in Ferran, Xavi's side have added another jewel to a splendid crown of young talents who in a few years could directly rival City in Europe's premier club competition.
From the ashes of a crisis-hit year that saw Lionel Messi leave Barca, new life has emerged at Camp Nou. Owing partly to the sale of senior players, injuries and the fact that they're extremely talented, a host of youngsters from the club's famed La Masia academy have been integrated into the first-team set-up.
Over the last couple of years, Ansu Fati has stunned football fans with his composure, skill and resilience, despite the fact he is still only 19 years old. Once he has overcome his long-term injury struggles, he has the potential to be the world's best.
This season has seen the sudden emergence of Gavi, Nico Gonzalez and Abde Ezzalzouli, midfielders who look like they've been playing in the first team for years.
Starlets have been brought in to complement those raised in La Masia. Pedri was the breakout star in world football last season, a fact recognised by him winning the 2021 Golden Boy award. The initial fee Barcelona paid to Las Palmas of €5m (£4.2m) could turn out to be the bargain of the century.
Ferran, told by Xavi that he was the only player he really wanted to sign, will be the centrepiece of Barca's rebuilding project. There are still an awful lot of issues to sort out before anyone at Camp Nou can even think about winning the Champions League, but the speed at which the regeneration of an ageing, stagnant squad is happening should be of some concern to City.
City will obviously freshen their own squad up in due course - the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan are all the 'wrong side' of 30.
But five years down the line, whether Guardiola is still at the Etihad Stadium or not, it could be his former employers, the club of his heart, that are City's main obstacle in their quest for European dominance.
Do you think selling Ferran Torres to Barcelona will come back to haunt City? Follow our City Is Ours writer Alex Brotherton on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
