Barcelona financial director Javier Faus has admitted that the decision to sell Thiago Alcantara was disappointing despite the fee the club received.
The Spanish Under-21 midfielder left for Bayern Munich last week after Pep Guardiola revealed his interest in signing his former player.
The European champions paid around €20m (£17.3m) which could rise to about €25m (£21.6m) with add-ons, and Faus concedes that selling a player of Thiago's quality was difficult to take.
"From a sporting point of view Thiago's sale isn't good, because he has a great future," Faus told reporters.
"[However] from an economic point of view it's not bad. We got €25m for a player, which is more than normal, it's not bad, especially given that his buyout clause was €18m."
Thiago was part of the Spain Under-21 side that won the European Championships this summer.
