Barcelona summer budget revealed—and it's pitiful
With its well-known financial disaster, Barcelona already has a lot on its hands. They have addressed some of their issues and are now free of their enormous debt, but others persist.
Joan Laporta has never shied away from a creative solution since taking over as club president again in March 2021. As an example, there have been the infamous “levers” of funds taken out of future profits, under the pretense of keeping the team competitive.
Because of this, the club was able to bring in high-priced superstars like Robert Lewandowski. All this, while keeping young guns like Ronald Araujo, Gavi, and Lamine Yamal, who won the 2022-23 La Liga championship.
Still, the problems inside their team and the limitations of the board’s temporary solutions are starting to show.
First things first
All things considered, Xavi Hernandez‘s squad had a somewhat quiet winter transfer window. After signing Vitor Roque during the previous summer transfer window, the Catalans included him on their roster. There was, however, no change in the number of arrivals or departures.
With their roster already extremely small, Barcelona chose not to sell anybody in January, even though they lacked the money to recruit any player. Therefore, Joan Laporta will be quite busy in the following months.
Finding a suitable substitute for Xavi should be the Catalans’ priority. This season, the Spaniard has revealed that he will leave as the Blaugrana’s head coach in the summer.
There will be a lot of change at the club during this time as they prepare for the 2024-25 season. That is when they will have a new manager and a focus on strengthening the first team.
After Xavi leaves, Deco and his staff will have the difficult task of assembling a championship-caliber squad for next year’s tournament. The club’s market actions will be dictated by its financial fair play (FFP) condition.
What can Barcelona do with a meager summer budget?
The higher-ups at Barcelona know they will need to sell a player or two to get the money they need. But, the defensive midfielder position, meanwhile, is what desperately needs reinforcements for this squad.
Oriol Romeu has been disappointing since Busquets left, making this a vulnerable spot for the team. In the last three months, he has seldom entered a game.
A major imbalance has emerged in the Catalan side’s midfield due to the absence of a natural pivot. The club will want to acquire such a player this summer regardless of what happens to Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo.
Barca will have a meager summer budget, which is expected given their well-documented financial problems. Catalan newspaper SPORT estimates the sum between $38 million and $43 million.
The club has been having issues with finances and fair play, so this figure might change slightly. Either way, it will be a considerable burden.
There will be a lot of pressure on Sporting Director Deco to make the correct choice with these unfortunate figures. Spanish media have previously mentioned names like Zubimendi, Onana, Weiffer, Andre, and Guimaraes. The price tag for each of them, however, is going to be above $54 million.
PHOTOS: IMAGO.