Joan Laporta takes aim at La Liga: "What they can't beat us on the field, they try to beat us in the offices."

BarcelonaThe ball goes in and excites, but the numbers are different. In a harsh statement issued this Wednesday morning, the League confirmed the information published by the ARA about the corporate operation that Barça hastily put together with two Arab companies to register Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor from January 1, 2025. These companies, of which the entity has not provided any details publicly, agreed to invest 100 million euros between the two in exchange for a right VIP of the future Camp Nou. Although there was a three-day delay, which caused Olmo and Víctor's licenses to expire, La Liga validated the transaction thanks to a favorable report from a contracted auditor. ad hoc And Barça hasn't revealed the name of the club either. Three months after that sequence, and once the management association has received the interim financial statements from all the First and Second Division clubs, the situation has taken a worrying turn.

As the new Barça auditor, Crowe, does not recognize the 100 million as income in the 2024-25 financial year, the League subtracts that same figure from Barça's registration capacity, which abandons the well-known 1/1 rule of the fair play financial until further notice. In turn, the public slap in the face from the entity chaired by Javier Tebas puts pressure on the Higher Sports Council (CSD), which must issue a final decision on the temporary registrations of Olmo and Víctor in the coming days, always before April 7. Both players are currently competing under an emergency precautionary measure granted by the CSD itself in mid-January. Sources close to this government body consulted by this newspaper assure that the resolution will most likely be favorable to the interests of Barça and, above all, the players. Despite the reduced salary margin and the suspicions linked to the operation of the seats VIP, everything points to the CSD giving priority to Olmo and Víctor's right to work.

The League will report the ghost auditor to the ICAC

The League's change in criteria for calculating Barça's salary cap depends on Crowe's point of view. The new Barça auditor believes that the 100 million euros (of which only 58 million have entered the coffers) linked to the sale of seats VIP They cannot be recorded as extraordinary income in the current financial year because the asset does not exist (Camp Nou is under construction) and it has not yet been delivered to the buyers. Crowe's auditors believe that if money has been collected in advance for the exploitation of a future asset, this should be reflected in the accounts as an advance payment until said asset can be effectively transferred to the clients who acquired it.

While internally discussing this fine print, Barça took advantage of La Liga's recognition of the 100 million euros to renew the contracts of Araujo, Pedri, Gavi, and Cubarsí within three weeks. Now that the management has seen that the operation has not been included in the interim reports, the salary cap has once again been exceeded. However, the extensions have already been signed and announced. These are the limits within which Joan Laporta has no rival.

In the final point of the statement issued this Wednesday, La Liga announced that it will file a complaint against the temporary auditor who authorized the deposit of the aforementioned €100 million into the Institute of Accounting and Auditing (ICAC), a body that reports to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business. Like Barça, the employers' association insists on withholding the company's name.

Joan Laporta responds forcefully to La Liga.

The Barça president was quick to respond to La Liga. Joan Laporta, who heads the Barça delegation in Madrid, took aim at the body chaired by Javier Tebas in statements to the press: "Sometimes I have the feeling that this isn't a coincidence. Today we're playing a final in Madrid against Atlético Madrid, and I hope it will be a great spectacle. We're trying to stabilize our team," said the Catalan club's top official before attending the board luncheon with Atlético.

"Sometimes I have the feeling that what they can't beat us on the pitch, they're trying to beat us in the offices, and as president of Barça, I can't allow this. I will continue to defend the interests of our club, in defense of our members, fans," Laporta added. "The club will respond once the legal services have thoroughly analyzed La Liga's letter. It will respond in the most forceful manner necessary to defend Barça's interests."