Barcelona Agree Goalkeeper Loan Exit Amid Financial and Registration Concerns

The summer-long Iñaki Peña saga in Barcelona is over as the Catalans were finally able to offload their fourth-string goalkeeper.

Barcelona announced they reached an agreement with Peña on a three-year contract extension as he immediately leaves on loan to Elche for the duration of the season.

The writing was on the wall for Peña to leave the club ever since Hansi Flick lost faith in him halfway through the 2024–25 season. After assuming the starting role in the aftermath of Marc-André ter Stegen’s knee injury early in the term, Flick pivoted to free agent Wojciech Szczęsny when the calendar turned to 2025.

Peña’s departure became clearer this summer when the club not only re-signed Szczęsny but also completed the transfer of Joan García. The Spaniard’s started Barça’s first two games of the season and is touted to be the goalkeeper of the future.

With García, Szczęsny and Ter Stegen at the club, it became abundantly clear Peña was the odd man out. Even though Ter Stegen is sidelined for at least four months, Peña didn’t play a single minute during Barcelona’s preseason matches.

Extending Peña’s contract before allowing him to depart on loan guarantees he won’t be able to leave on a free transfer next summer when his previous contract was due to expire. It also should give Barcelona some aid in their attempt to get closer to meeting Financial Fair Play regulations.

Barcelona were hesitant to let Peña go unless they were certain they could register Szczęsny in La Liga. Now that Peña is on his way to Elche, the expectation is the Polish keeper will be registered prior to Barcelona’s match vs. Rayo Vallecano on Aug. 31.

There’s still work to be done by Barcelona before the end of the transfer window. The focus now shifts to the departures of Oriol Romeu and Héctor Fort, the keys to pending registrations of Gerard Martín and Roony Bardghji.