A report from The Athletic has revealed that Barcelona are currently facing a major challenge as they are unable to register nine out of their 25 players for the upcoming season.
In order to get these players within the team, the team must secure €130 million by June 30.
The past few summers have been tumultuous for Barcelona as club president Joan Laporta and his team have been striving to assemble strong squads despite the club’s significant financial troubles.
This has often led to frantic efforts and the team’s board has had to come up with creative ways to comply with La Liga’s salary cap rules to stay within the limits and this year promises to be no different in terms of financial manoeuvring.
It is suggested that Barcelona need to secure about €130 million by June 30 to avoid major issues with registering new players. This urgency is due to the club exceeding La Liga’s salary cap during the 2023-24 season.
Barcelona are optimistic
Recently, sources within Barcelona expressed confidence that a solution would be found by the end of the month.
The club is exploring new investment opportunities for their troubled Barça Studios project and is also looking to renegotiate or extend their sponsorship deal with Nike.
However, no specific details have been shared with La Liga yet, and selling key players like Ronald Araujo, Frenkie de Jong, or Raphinha is still a possibility.
Who are the players not registered?
As of now, nine players who played for Barcelona in La Liga during the 2023-24 season cannot be registered for the next season.
This includes Sergi Roberto and Marcos Alonso, whose contracts expire on June 30, along with the loan deals of Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo.
On the same date, Inigo Martinez and Vitor Roque will also become ‘unregistered’ due to the unconventional ways they were added to the squad last season.
Additionally, formal approval from La Liga is still pending for new contracts for young talents from La Masia, namely, Alejandro Balde, Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi, and Hector Fort.
There is also an ongoing legal battle with the league over the status of another homegrown player, Gavi.
Complicating matters further is the fact that players returning from loan spells are automatically registered for the 2024-25 season.
This means the high salaries of Ansu Fati, Eric Garcia, Sergino Dest, and Clement Lenglet are currently being counted towards the salary cap, even though these players may not be part of Barcelona’s long-term plans.
