The scramble for Víctor Muñoz has entered a high-stakes phase, and while Barcelona’s interest is no secret, the path to a deal is becoming a minefield. By scoring just nine minutes into his international debut against Serbia at La Cerámica, the 21-year-old Barcelona native ended a long wait for an Osasuna player to net for the national team.
Now, he finds himself right in the middle of a battle between Spain’s two biggest clubs, with the clock ticking toward a summer deadline.
While Muñoz is currently
a fan favorite at El Sadar, where Osasuna plays in Navarre, his roots are tied to elsewhere. He spent his formative years at La Masia alongside current first-team figures like Alejandro Balde and Marc Casadó. The club let him go when he was around 14 years old, a decision his inner circle reportedly says was tough to swallow.
But he has recently emerged as a serious, cost-effective alternative for the Blaugrana if they decide against making Marcus Rashford’s €30 million stay permanent. According to Diario SPORT, the club is currently analyzing the winger’s contractual situation to see if they can beat Madrid to the punch.
It won’t be easy. Real Madrid still owns 50% of the forward’s rights and has an €8 million buy-back clause that kicks in this summer. It’s widely understood that the Madrid board is already planning to activate that clause to give Muñoz a pre-season audition alongside other returning talents like Endrick and Nico Paz.
However, if Barcelona can strike a deal with Osasuna before Madrid triggers that option, the capital club would lose their leverage and would simply collect half of the transfer fee. With a release clause of €40 million, Osasuna is reportedly open to negotiating a price, but time is running out.
The pull of a return to his hometown club and a reunion with players he came up with, such as Fermín López, could be tempting. But there are rumors that Muñoz remains wary of a return due to the bitter way his Masia exit was handled when he was a kid. He came up through Real Madrid’s academy after that and only he knows where his loyalties truly reside.
