Barça signs Joan Garcia and Marcus Rashford to play in Mallorca

BarcelonaAt the beginning of the summer, Barça was convinced it would have a placid transfer market. They knew the cash flow wasn't sufficient for much excitement, so few new signings were on the horizon. But unlike in recent seasons, the club expected to complete the signings without having to rush to the end. Nothing could be further from the truth. The board, in an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday at noon, approved a guarantee of 7 million euros to ensure that some new faces in the squad could make their debut on Saturday at Mallorca (7:30 p.m.). This news came on top of La Liga's confirmation that Ter Stegen's injury is long-term and, therefore, a significant portion of his salary could be used to register his replacement, Joan Garcia. This Friday, the day before the game at Son Moix, the goalkeeper's registration was confirmed, as was that of Marcus Rashford. Thus, only the signing of Roony Bardghji remains to be registered, as well as the renewals of Wojciech Szczesny and Gerard Martín. The only thing missing is for the process to be made official on the Liga website.

The reason for the delay lies in the famous auditor's report on the seats. VIP of the new Camp Nou, an asset that is already built, but has not yet been put into operation, since The stadium is waiting to receive reopening permits.Barça assumed Crowe would give the green light at the beginning of the summer and, therefore, could claim the €100 million earned in the income statement at the beginning of the summer. But the auditor took a long time to sign the report. According to 3cat and confirmed by ARA, the club has already sent it to La Liga and now it's the club's management association that must review it. However, the bureaucratic process is slow, much slower than they thought. If La Liga had given the green light immediately, the club would have had an easy time returning to the 1:1 rule. But no one knows for sure when it will receive the approval.

Barça is looking for emergency solutions to register players if the audit report isn't approved.

Therefore, until this is resolved, Barça is far from the 1:1 rule—what is technically called being oversubscribed. Therefore, only a percentage of the money saved by freeing up too much salary can be used. With this summer's departures (Lenglet, Ansu, Pablo Torre, and Iñigo Martínez), Barça has between 28 and 30 million euros to spend on new signings. With that money, they could make room for Rashford, Szczesny, and Gerard Martín, although the club prefers to wait until the last minute because if they formalize the registrations while oversubscribed, they lose out. If they wait until they are under the 1:1 rule, they won't. However, waiting carries the risk of the players missing their debut in Mallorca. The other registration, that of Bardghji, doesn't count toward the club's fair play, as he will have a Barça Atlètic registration.

At the moment, the only thing that is certain is that Joan Garcia and Marcus Rashford will be able to play. The former Espanyol goalkeeper, who cost 25 million, can be registered using the Marc-André ter Stegen's withdrawal, who has undergone back surgery. However, these calculations were subject to the decision of the League's medical commission, which late Wednesday night confirmed that the German goalkeeper will be out for at least four months.

But regardless, the club needed to correct a budget deviation of seven million euros. According to Blaugrana sources, this is due to overspending in the sections, specifically basketball. That's why the board met in an extraordinary session to discuss the guarantee. The meeting lasted just over an hour, and the decision was approved unanimously. This is one of Joan Laporta's hallmarks, who believes that the most important decisions of a season should have the support of all board members, with no dissenting votes. At least, in the vote, since the idea of a guarantee didn't quite convince some of the board members, who don't want to take risks, especially in an election year.

Szczesny's registration will unlock Iñaki Peña's exit.

For the time being, Joan Garcia and Rashford are eligible to play. Szczesny is not, which means the departure of Iñaki Peña, who will be the backup goalkeeper for the club's La Liga debut, is blocked. Once the Pole, who has renewed his contract for two years, has approval from management, Peña will leave Barça, in a deal that, in addition to freeing up significant salary, will also generate transfer money. The other name is Oriol Romeu, who is still waiting to reach an agreement to terminate his contract. Hector Fort also has a number of players who are expected to leave on loan.