Sergiño Dest — FC Barcelona’s First Official American Player
Following his debut appearance, a look at the business and sporting potential in Barça’s signing of the 19 year-old U.S. international
At the start of the second half in Sunday’s La Liga heavyweight matchup between FC Barcelona and Sevilla FC, a handful of players started warming up on the sideline. Most clubs send potential substitutes to warm up during this period so they stay fresh if and when they are needed later on in the match. Some will come on for tactical purposes, some will spend the rest of the match on that same sideline warming up until the referee blows their whistle, or worse, in the stands. Barça’s left back Jordi Alba required a substitution late in the second-half due to a muscular tear that will keep the Catalan off of the field for a few weeks, at the least. Sergiño Dest came on as one of the only defensive players on Barça’s bench and, in turn, became part of FC Barcelona and United States soccer history. His signing could have massive business and sporting potential for a club desperately needing rejuvenation in both areas.
On October 1, 2020, FC Barcelona announced the signing of fullback Sergiño Dest from Ajax Amsterdam for a fee of €21 million plus €5 million in variables, according to the club’s website. More details about the transfer include the length of Dest’s contract at 5 years with a reported €400 million buyout clause. None of these figures stand out as unusually high, even for a talented 19 year-old. What is historic about his signing and his debut appearance against Sevilla is that he is the first U.S. international to sign for and play for FC Barcelona’s first team in an official match.
In recent history there have been just two U.S. national players in the FC Barcelona academy system who were more or less on track to make an official first team appearance prior to Dest. The attacking player Ben Lederman was the first U.S. national invited to Barça’s infamous La Masia academy. Lederman made his way up the ranks of La Masia prior to the groundbreaking FIFA ruling that prohibited him and many other thriving young players from playing for the club for multiple years. This was highly detrimental to his young career and eventually lead to his transfer to Belgian club KAA Gent. He would move on from Belgium just a year and a half later to continue his hopes at a professional career. A detailed write-up on the young American and his unfortunate setback appeared on ESPN’s website last year and provides more insight into his unique situation.
During this same timeframe another young American, Konrad de la Fuente, joined the ranks of La Masia in the Cadete A, or Under-16, team. De la Fuente is another attacking player who has played primarily as a left winger, quickly earning his way from the Juvenil A or Under-19 squad last season to the Barça B lineup as they made their promotion playoff run during Summer 2019. He is now a registered B team player and features when he is not supplementing the first team squad. More recently, he was included in the Barça first team squad through the shorter than normal pre-season when he made two appearances. He was also listed as a substitute available for two of the last three La Liga matches and was bound to make history prior to Dest’s arrival.
It is unlikely that De la Fuente will hold a grudge against Dest for this appearance record, though, as they have been friends and teammates throughout the youth ranks with the U.S. Men’s National Team for some time now. When the two both appeared together on the left-hand side of the field for the U.S. youth national teams (Dest normally has played as a right-back for Ajax), the amount of speed and dynamism overwhelmed opposition defenses and was thrilling to watch. This alone should leave Barça fans excited for what is yet to come. This also gives U.S. fans more to cheer for as the two build even more chemistry for what will hopefully be a lengthy and successful international career.
Dest’s arrival coincides with a golden “generation” of players between the ages of 17–23 years old that has emerged out of the United States of America, especially in comparison to years and even decades past. With the likes of Christian Pulisic playing and scoring regularly for perennial Premier League title contenders Chelsea, Tyler Adams playing an important role in RB Leipzig’s Champions League semi-final run and Bundesliga success, and more recently, Giovanni Reyna racking up astounding statistics for Borussia Dortmund, Chris Richards making solid appearances for Bayern Munich, Weston McKennie starting for Juventus, and the aforementioned de la Fuente knocking on Barça’s door, there is a lot to be excited about for American football (soccer) fans.
This is without mentioning the promising Timothy Weah, Brenden Aaronson, Alex Méndez, Josh Sargeant, Antonee Robinson, Ulysses Llanez, Zack Steffen, and Cameron Carter-Vickers playing or set to play at top clubs around Europe.
To say the least, this generation of American players abroad could do wonders for the ever-increasing popularity of the sport in the United States. Even more likely, the signing of Sergiño Dest should help to cement FC Barcelona’s position as the most popular football club in the U.S. This could have an enormous financial payoff for both the club and the Spanish league that constantly works to gain more popularity in this emerging market. FC Barcelona has visited the U.S. on a handful of pre-season tours throughout the last 12 years including a pre-season visit to Miami for a “friendly” El Clásico match-up against Real Madrid in 2017. Brand Finance determined in 2018 that FC Barcelona was the most popular club among U.S. fans and has simultaneously overtaken Real Madrid and Manchester United as the club with the most followers of a U.S.-oriented Twitter account. Additionally, the club has been the most engaged-with sports team in the world since the 2017/18 season.
As a member club of La Liga, FC Barcelona league matches are broadcasted on the niche network BeIN Sports, rather than CBS, NBC Sports, or ESPN, which makes watching the club slightly more difficult compared to viewing other sports and foreign football (soccer) leagues. Still, the attraction of watching an American international suit up in the Blaugrana on a potentially regular basis could increase subscriptions to the Qatari-owned BeIN network and, down the road, lead to more TV revenue once a new broadcasting rights contract is signed in 2024. The signing will likely lead to more non-Messi jersey sales in the U.S., especially and provide another marketing factor when Barça returns to the U.S. in the near future when fans will be allowed to attend matches. There is a lot of new marketing potential that Barça will hope to take advantage of over the next few years that they have a little bit earlier thanks to Dest.
We must not forget that young Sergiño Dest is more than just a marketing tool; he is a gifted footballer who earned his place in an improving Ajax squad and was fought over between FC Barcelona and a tantalizing and thriving sporting project at Bayern Munich. Dest earned all of it. As mentioned previously, he most often featured at right back for the Dutch club and is a right-footed player. However, some U.S. and Ajax fans, as well as those who watched Barça vs. Sevilla, will note his competence as a left back. This positional versatility combines well with his skills as a dribbler, a technically-gifted and adventurous passer, along with good sprinting speed while he has room to grow physically over the remainder of his career. Dest amassed 2 goals and 6 assists with the Ajax first team in just under 40 appearances and will likely play a similar advanced-fullback role with Barça. When he features on the righthand-side, he will be one of the most dynamic and attacking defenders Barcelona has had in the position since Dani Alves. The comparison is true as far as positioning and playing characteristics go but he still has a long career to go before reaching the level of the Brazilian legend. When he fills in on the left, he should cover well for Alba. His skillset will allow Barça to maintain a similar tactical setup while adding a unique and much-needed attacking threat to pair with Ansu Fati. He adds youth to a side that was all but begging to be refreshed after last season’s trophy-less campaign and pitiful 8–2 Champions League knockout loss to Bayern Munich.
After just 16 minutes vs. Sevilla, Dest had a comfortable debut. He entered the game as a substitute for a club academy product and member of the first team since 2012. This is no small role to fill. He also entered as the first American to play an official match for the world-renowned Catalan giants. Dest is the player who will forever be associated with this historic moment. Barça and U.S. Soccer fans will hope he will be a historic player to match this record-setting appearance.
Thank you for reading. Please feel free to check out my analysis of various players like Nordi Mukiele and Eduardo Camavinga, data-analysis articles, as well as my article series on modern football player transfers. I am also open to feedback, comments, and conversations of all sorts on twitter: @rschmidtke8.
