Antwerp (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Royal Antwerp FC are on the brink of securing a high‑profile defensive reinforcement from FC Barcelona, with 21‑year‑old Spanish centre‑back Álvaro Cortés poised to join the Belgian side in a permanent transfer that includes strategic clauses for the Catalan club.
What exactly is the deal?
The transfer, which has been hailed by prominent insiders as basically finalized, involves the transfer of Cortés from the top structure at Barcelona to Royal Antwerp on a permanent basis, with the Spanish club maintaining substantial control for the future via contract provisions.
According to Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano,
“Belgian club Royal Antwerp have reached an agreement for the signing of Barcelona defender Alvaro Cortes”,
adding that
“it will be a permanent transfer, while Barcelona will retain a sell‑on clause and a buy‑back option”.
This ensures that, in the event of an increase in the value of Cortés in the future, the club will take advantage of it without completely closing the option of bringing him back in case he performs well in Belgium. The move was described by journalist Matteo Moretto as being “as good as done” while at the same time affirming that the agreement contains not only a sell-on percentage but also a buy-back clause for the club.
Who is Álvaro Cortés?
Álvaro Cortés, sometimes referenced with full name Álvaro Cortés Moyano, is a 21-year-old Spanish central defender born on 17 March 2005. Being about 1.88 – 1.90 metres tall and about 82 kg heavy, he belongs to a new generation of defenders with high physical characteristics to compete with other players in the air and to play as anchor of the defensive line. He is referred to as playing in number 26 for the senior squad of Barcelona, however, some database providers also mention his number 36 with the Barcelona B team.
Álvaro Cortés has played for Barcelona’s youth teams, making his way from Barcelona U19 in the 2023/24 season to Barcelona B in the lower league of Spain. Over the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons, he has earned about 30+ games for Barcelona B in the Primera/Segunda Federación, but the exact numbers may vary depending on the sources due to the incompleteness of some statistics. There are no goals or assists made by Álvaro Cortés in his game record.
Playing at senior level, Cortés started his professional career with Barcelona in the 2025/26 season. From the publicly available statistics, he has played just one game for Barcelona in competition and did not score and assist. He made 3 clearances, 1 tackle/block and got one foul in this game without yellow or red cards. He has also played for Spain’s national team in U20 level, making at least 1 substitute appearance in 2025/26 season.
What does this mean for Royal Antwerp?
The new signing is also in line with the strategy that the club is now pursuing thanks to the football director Marc Overmars. Following a takeover recently, the club has adopted a new strategy which is more focused on sustainability and it has been described as “Antwerp 2.0” because it focuses on sensible spending, efficient squad and player development with a view of future sales. In his words, “Antwerp are pursuing a more disciplined, ‘Antwerp 2.0’ model: focus on sustainable growth, not splurging”. The director has been clear about the need for the team to cut the size of their squad (they have currently more than 30 players), but they can also add some talented players to their ranks where necessary.
One of the needs now is to have additional defensive cover since the club lost some of its centre-backs like Willian Pacho (transferred to Frankfurt for €13.65 million), Zeno Van Den Bosch, and Kiki Kouyaté. In such a situation, Cortés is a relatively affordable but quite promising player who can be developed in the league and sold later for a profit.
From the financial perspective, the club has had a positive net transfer balance in 2026/27 (around €10 million income and €4.4 million expenditure, net result: +€5.6 million). Some of their recent sales include Senne Lammens to Manchester United (€21 million), Arthur Vermeeren to Atlético Madrid (€20 million), George Ilenikhena to Monaco (€18.75 million), Mahamadou Doumbia to Al-Ittihad (€16 million) and Jules Ahoka to Sunderland (€10 million).
