Elche lose Prats to Barcelona

Elche have lost a player they could not afford to keep. Jesús Prats, 24, has completed a transfer to Barcelona for a fee of £26.0m, leaving behind a club that gave him everything and expected him to stay.

Prats spent eight seasons at Elche, making 220 league appearances and scoring 28 goals. He helped the club to a trophy in that time. Now he moves to a Barcelona side that has won 107 major titles and operates at a level Elche can only dream of.

The money is significant for a second-division club. Elche will bank £26.0m, but they lose a player who knew the club inside out. Prats was not a superstar; he was a local figure, a reliable presence. Barcelona are not signing a global star. They are signing a player who can do a job.

The move comes days after Barcelona sold Antonius Maertens to Borussia Dortmund for £37.5m. Prats is cheaper, younger, and Spanish. Barcelona have spent £26.0m on one player in this window, and that player is Prats.

Elche fans will feel the loss. Prats was one of their own, a player who came through the ranks and stayed loyal until a bigger club called. That is the story of Spanish football. The big clubs take what they want.

Prats has no senior international caps. He is not expected to walk into the Barcelona team. But he will fight for his place, the way he fought for Elche. The second division will miss him. Barcelona have got themselves a player who knows what it means to work for everything.