Barcelona reaches agreement with Nice for loan transfer of Marlon

Marlon Santos is crossing the Pyrenees mountain range.

On Tuesday, Barcelona and OGC Nice reached an agreement for the transfer of Marlon that spans two seasons and includes a club option for the Blaugrana to take back the Brazilian defender at the end of the first season.

A product of Fluminense, Marlon became part of Barcelona's first team for the 2017-18 season after arriving at Barca B on loan for the 2016-17 season with an option of a permanent transfer at the end of the campaign. The Catalan club took up the option in June, keeping him under its umbrella for three seasons.

According to ESPN FC's Samuel Marsden, Barcelona only paid €2 million for Marlon after paying €4 million to Fluminense for the first option on Gerson, Kenedy, and Marlon. The first two went on to join AS Roma and Chelsea, respectively.

Marlon's debut for Barcelona's first team came in Barcelona's 2-0 victory over Celtic in the Champions League, while his La Liga debut came in a win against UD Las Palmas in which he played 90 minutes.