The 'carpe diem' of Barça (and of Joan Laporta)

BarcelonaBarça has needed six years to face a summer transfer window without restrictions again. Not even 2022 is comparable, since then the club, despite strengthening itself with Kounde, Raphinha and Lewandowski, sweated profusely for the levers to adapt to La Liga's regulations. This time the tap is flowing and once Anthony Gordon's signing has been confirmed, the entity still presided over on an interim basis by Rafael Yuste is pulling strings to sign a world-class center forward and, if possible, to strengthen the defense with a reliable center-back.

The club has been six years with the fair play exceeded. First, due to a pandemic that showed the shame of former president Josep Maria Bartomeu's management in terms of signings and salary increases. And, then, due to Joan Laporta's surprising decision to declare 555 million euros in losses in his first year of management. The salary limit is calculated from the budget, subtracting from the revenue forecast the money allocated to non-sporting expenses – facilities, management, travel, administrative staff, maintenance, services...–. And from this resulting amount, which usually hovers around 60% of the budget, penalties for accumulated losses from previous years must also be subtracted. This is the burden that Barça has been dragging season after season, whether due to the inherited baggage or the resounding failure of operations like Barça Vision. "We haven't had problems signing, we've had problems registering," they insist on saying from the noble offices.

The Primera División season has ended, but at the employers' association headquarters, on Torrelaguna street in Madrid, activity is intense. In the offices, the chicos, as the employees who control the clubs' salary limits affectionately call them, have been updating the data provided by the entities for days. In April, the deadline for submitting the draft budgets for the next season ended, and between this document and the contracts signed with the footballers, it is determined who will have more or less ease in strengthening. Clubs also do this calculation on their own, and the great news being celebrated in the Barça offices is that the numbers add up, that the 1:1 rule is finally being reached and the restrictions on registrations are ending.

La Liga has unofficially informed Barça that it will have salary margin

This does not mean that anyone can be signed at any price. Simply, that from July 1st they will depend solely on Barça's ability to offload the footballers who do not fit into Hansi Flick's system, and they can forget about percentages, guarantees, or strategic renewals that meant bread for today and hunger for tomorrow. The employers' association, even if only unofficially, has already let Barça know that this summer they will be able to register without many problems, and the sporting secretariat is sparing no effort or resources in case lean times return in the not-too-distant future. Thus, both Laporta, who is operating as president-elect until July 1st, and the technical secretary, Deco, are determined to carry out the operations that have been denied to them for so long.

To understand how we got here it must be taken into account that, once the Camp Nou was reopened, the auditor validated the 70 million already received from the sale of the vip seats. In addition, returning to the stadium has boosted revenue from ticket sales and more money than expected has been obtained from sponsorships. For next season, the Blaugrana not only save the 40 million that Lewandowski represented in salary and amortization, but the transfer limit will also be increased with the forecast of collecting the remaining 30 million from the vip seats and the budget includes a provision of about 30 million for the reopening of the third tier, even if it is partial and not operational until the first quarter of 2027. This last point has generated some suspicion because income that cannot be guaranteed 100% is taken for granted.

The ghosts of 'fair play' may return in 2027

Precisely, the reopening of the third tier and the construction of the roof are the two elements that most worry Barça in the medium term. Initially, because if there are delays in the reopening, the budget cannot be met and the club risks a penalty. And, regarding the roof, what was initially supposed to be four months will probably be seven. If confirmed, we will have to return to Montjuïc, a stadium that means less income – it has less capacity – and more expense – the price of rent and additional security and transport costs around 900,000 euros per month–. In summary: a setback in the 2027-28 season budget and, therefore, the real possibility of exceeding the fair play.

For all these reasons, Barça sources admit that this summer market is "strategic" and that "we must invest without fear" because "if we wait until next summer, maybe then we can't". That is why the insistence on not delaying the signing of a top-level center forward like Julián Álvarez, if they manage to get Atlético de Madrid to agree to sell him, even for 120 million euros or more. As a director summarizes, speaking half-jokingly, half-seriously, "let's sign now, before La Liga reconsiders it".