For Felipe Caicedo, it is an old dream to play for the club he supports, Barcelona SC, whose leadership would have the intention of returning the striker, who has been active abroad since 2006, to his homeland. If the Guayaquil striker and the Canaries come to an agreement in 2024, a historic event in the footballer’s career would take place: he would make his debut in the first division of national football.

In September 2006, at the age of 18, he made his debut for FC Basel, in a Swiss league match against FC Zurich. Caicedo came directly from Rocafuerte Fútbol Club, in Guayaquil (where he started when he was only 11 years old), his hometown, to professional football in Europe. After spending time in England, Spain, Italy, Russia and the United Arab Emirates, the striker landed in Saudi Arabia in August 2022 to join the Abha club with whom he signed a one-season contract in exchange for $5 million (the figure refers to on several international websites).

At 35 and with a career that at least in Europe seems over in terms of being able to join top clubs and elite leagues, in the Middle East, in a less competitive competition, Caicedo could not perform. At the Abha club, he scored only three goals in 23 Saudi Pro League games since his arrival. Felipao has, by all accounts, options today to look for a team from the circle in which he plays or to come to an agreement with the second division teams from the countries of the Old Continent.

“Not at any cost”

Will these factors speed up the striker’s return to Ecuador? Does all this work in favor of Barcelona SC if they formalize their offer? Probably. Or maybe not. Caicedo spoke about his future for the portal in recent days EuroFoot: “I am ready to go anywhere, but not at any price. You need a good project that is interesting, otherwise I don’t think it will work.”

By directly qualifying for the group stage of the 2024 Copa Libertadores, the Toreadors secured $3 million, plus box office revenue from at least the first three home matches. According to Transfermarktspecialized website and world reference in terms of transfer costs, the current market value is 400,000 euros ($432,240) in the last review on October 25.

Free from the Abha club, and if the figure of $5 million in salary for the campaign is correct (it has been mentioned since August 2022 in various media in Ecuador and Europe), Caicedo would receive a monthly salary of $416,666 in Saudi Arabia. Is that amount within Barcelona SC’s reach?

Plan B

“We learn from close sources, the information is true that Barcelona SC will present an official offer for Felipe Caicedo, and if it doesn’t work out there is a very good plan B,” announced radio journalist Christian Carrasco Caravan on your X social network account.

His colleague Jorge Pazmiño agreed with Carrasco’s information and added that the Canaries want to put together a team that will realize the dream of winning the Copa Libertadores. “The source confirms that Barcelona SC will make an official offer to Felipe Caicedo in the coming days. They want to put together a team that will win the Libertadores in 2024,” he announced in X.

Caicedo’s best moments abroad were for Italy’s Lazio (33 goals and 15 assists in 139 games) and Spain’s Espanyol (24 goals, four assists in 103 official games). (D)