The most complicated summer for Barça women's team

BarcelonaBarça begin their defense of their Liga F title on Saturday at the Johan Cruyff Stadium against Alhama CF (8 p.m., DAZN), a trophy they have won uninterruptedly since the 2019-20 season. The big challenge, as has been the case for the last five years, is winning the Champions League, which they missed out on last season in a final that crowned Renée Slegers' Arsenal. That match exposed some of the key flaws of Pere Romeu's Barça, a coach looking to rebuild the team's winning streak in Europe after the most difficult summer in recent memory. The team was only reinforced with two new players: center back Laia Aleixandri, whose contract with City expired, and the return of full-back Lucía Corrales, who had been loaned to Sevilla.

The cutback plan implemented by Joan Laporta's board of directors also affects Romeu's squad. Although the majority percentage (and by far) of sports salaries that remain exceeded the fair play The entity's financial budget corresponds to the first football team, the costs of the club's other professional teams impact it. This explains unwanted departures by the coaching staff such as that of Fridolina Rolfö. However, only Aleixandri and Corrales have arrived, and as confirmed by ARA, they will be signed to the first team. Also joining Sydney Schertenleib, one of last season's sensations, is Alba Caño—who remains on loan until December—after signing with Boston Legacy. The promising newcomers, Clara Serrajordi, Aïcha Camara, and Emilia Szymczak, will remain with the reserve team.

However, the return of other players has not been completed, such as Martina Fernández, who transferred to Everton after playing on loan. Giulia Dragoni will not be wearing the blaugrana jersey either, as she will remain on loan at Roma for another season. The summer of austerity has contrasted with last season, when the €500,000 release clause was spent on the signing of striker Ewa Pajor, who still has yet to win the Champions League. Kika Nazareth also arrived. the most promising forward line in Portuguese football and who is expected to have a more prominent role, as is the case with Vicky López. While Pajor arrived to fill the void left by Asisat Oshoala, Kika came to replace Mariona Caldentey, the reigning Champions League winner with Arsenal. In the current squad, it will be the youngsters who will have to rest the team's mainstays.

More painful departures are not ruled out.

A good chunk of the budget also depended on winning the Champions League. One of the people visibly most emotional after the defeat in the final was Laporta. Still feeling the heat, he told the coaching staff and players that the club would do everything possible to ensure Barça would once again compete for the European title next season. But the reality is that the Blaugranas have had one of their most difficult summers in every area.

Some key players' contracts are out next summer. Claudia Pina and Cata Coll, as explained by theSport And this newspaper can confirm that they have already renewed their contracts. But there's still work to be done. A new contract proposal will have to be considered for Mapi León, Ona Batlle, Salma Paralluelo, Graham Hansen, Corrales, and Romeu himself. With months to go until they could negotiate with other clubs and leave for free, the club wasn't locking itself into painful sales this summer in the remaining days of the transfer window. And it can't rule them out for the winter either.

Lyon's interest in Mapi has been a reality for months, the club where Ingrid Engen joined. Another departure for the Barça defense is Jana Fernández, who left on her own volition and joined London City Lionesses, attracted by the sporting offer. Some of the players up for renewal believe their level and standing have improved since their last contract and expect an effort from the club. An effort that, currently, isn't possible.

Although it's accepted that the club may be forced to part ways with key players, the focus is on signings for the future rather than the present. However, as of today, there isn't enough financial muscle. The margin available in the winter transfer market, and in part also in a year's time, will depend on how much money has been allocated for renewals. On the other hand, the club was willing to make a significant effort to sign the Mexican. Maga Ovalle. However, in recent days, he became the most expensive signing in the history of women's soccer, signing for the Orlando Pride for nearly 1.3 million euros. Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmatí want a competitive Barça so they can continue to defend the colors they love.

The solution lies in the homegrown players.

Romeu will have to rely on La Masia players. He already brought some with him on the tour to Mexico. Full-back Aïcha Cámara, midfielders Caño, Serrajordi, and Szymczak, as well as defender Corrales, are expected to play a leading role. Schertenleib stands out in particular. The midfielder, who has also played up front for the Swiss national team, is one of the club's biggest projects. "She has the potential to be one of the best in the world, but the competition in the middle of the pitch is fierce," according to Barça. Schertenleib also has to manage her emotions in order to take center stage in major matches with the first team.

Women's salaries are part of the non-registerable salary bill that, for now, counts toward the famous fair play financial. It's a major thorn in the side of influencing player registration in the men's league.It belongs to the same pool that also includes the youth and youth sections and the bulk of the men's coaching staff, where members of Flick's team earn more than one million euros (the amount, for example, that Alexia Putellas was asking for to renew her contract two seasons ago). In total, this entire salary pool is budgeted at 95 million euros this year, according to Xavier O'Callaghan, Barça's director of professional sports, in a recent press conference.

Of that amount, the women's team, in terms of salaries (then there is the operating expense, which is not accounted for in this folder) has 13.75 million to spend this year, a budget lower than that of Lyon or the majority of the leading teams in the Premier League. Of the 95 million mentioned, 32 million go to youth football and the first team's coaching staff. And 28.75 million in basketball, which has not been exempt from cuts either. Because Flick's coaching staff counts in this same salary bracket, which directly impacts the fair play, This affects the budget of both the women's team and the rest of the club's professional teams.

In fact, the final €7 million guarantee that the board had to provide to unblock the registrations of Joan Garcia and Rashford was mainly to correct a deviation in the first team's coaching staff, with a small portion corresponding to handball, while the women's team and basketball teams are within budget. Despite the cuts, the club is confident it can compete with Arsenal, Chelsea, and Lyon in the Champions League. In the F1 League, Real Madrid has strengthened well and continues to make progress, but is still considered to be a step behind.