When Joan Laporta returned as Barcelona president for his third round in 2021, the La Liga giant was anything but a giant financially. The cupboards were opened, and out fell a bunch of “skeletons”. For the next five years, Barcelona have had La Liga on their necks, which has placed very tough limits on their spending. Last month, Barcelona signed Anthony Gordon from Newcastle for £70 million plus add-ons, this week there are reports of a bid of 100 million euros for Julian Alvarez. How can Barcelona suddenly bear the giant investments?
Journalist and author Nicolai Lisberg explains to Danish Bold about the situation. Barcelona has in recent years operated under a 1:4 rule. This meant that they were only allowed to spend a quarter of the revenue generated. Now Barca are back under 1:1, which means that they can once again spend money on transfers and wages without a straitjacket.
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Carlos Monfort, journalist for Spanish SPORT pulls a deeper analysis about the quick recovery.
“In Barcelona, we are as surprised as everyone else, because we didn’t think it would be so easy,” Monfort begins to Bold.
“FC Barcelona has not spent much money in the last three summer windows. Last summer, they spent just €2.5 million on Roony Bardghji and €25 million on Joan Garcia, which was an opportunity that could not be missed. So it’s been three very conservative summers without spending a lot of money.”
Carlos Monfort emphasizes the importance of saying goodbye to players who have high salaries. Robert Lewandowski was the highest paid in the squad, and he is done. Now Barca are also trying to get rid of highly paid players such as Marc-André ter Stegen and Ansu Fati. The latter is said to be close to joining AS Monaco.
“Ansu Fati was one of those who had a high salary, but Barca closed a deal with Monaco on Monday. So they earn 11 million euros due to the sale, but what is more important is the salary that Barca are now saving. The same goes for Marc-André ter Stegen, where they also want to save his salary. With a number of players, you can make money from sales, but the most important thing is to save their salary”, the journalist continues.
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“So Barcelona have been saving the last three summers and right now they think they can buy players easily. I think it will be quite difficult to buy Julián Álvarez, to be honest. They have sent a bid of 100 million. But Atlético will demand 150. Barcelona want him, and the player wants to go to Barcelona, but I don’t think it’s enough,” concludes Carlos Monfort.
Real Madrid have had to watch their arch-rivals take the last two La Liga titles. With financial freedom of action in the coming transfer windows, the Madrid club will have an even tougher time in El Clasicos ahead and the fight for titles.
