Report: USMNT prospect Sergiño Dest to join FC Barcelona

U.S. Men’s National Team prospect Sergiño Dest is expected to sign with legendary Spanish club FC Barcelona, as was first reported by Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano.

The 19-year-old defender who currently plays for Dutch club AFC Ajax is reportedly going to sign a contract which would keep him with Barcelona until 2025, making around $25 million in base salary.

Dest joined Ajax in 2019, where he has made 23 appearances with the first team. In recent weeks, multiple European powerhouse clubs have been in a battle to acquire the ascending American talent. Ultimately, it appears that Germany’s Bayern Munich has lost the high profile bidding war with Barcelona.

One of the top young prospects in the USMNT player pool, Dest already has three international caps at the senior level, prior to his 20th birthday. He previously represented the U.S. in both the FIFA U-17 World Cup and the U-20 World Cup.

This isn’t the first global face-off for Dest’s services. In October 2019, Dest decided to represent the U.S. instead of the Netherlands at the international level. Having been born in the Netherlands to a Dutch mother and Surinamese-American father, he explored the opportunity to switch allegiances, but ultimately stayed with U.S. Soccer after meeting with USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter and USSF Sporting Director Earnie Stewart.