By Jamie Spencer
Barcelona could be in a position where the club is able to spend more competitively, hinging on whether they can fall in line with La Liga’s financial requirements.
Barca have spent the last few years completely hamstrung following a period of significant overspending and financial mismanagement.
Despite healthy income, the club's spending power has been repeatedly slashed. They have been operating under the terms of La Liga's 1:4 rule, which means only being allowed to spend €1 for every €4 that is saved or brought in. Ordinarily it would be 1:1, which is why Real Madrid's salary cap in 2023/24 was €727m and Barcelona's was reduced to €204m after January.
But La Liga chief Javier Tebas appears optimistic of the Catalans soon returning to equilibrium.
"If they resolve some important matters that are pending, Barca will be able to achieve a 1:1 situation," the league president said, via Mundo Deportivo. "Based on our discussions on key matters, if they address them, they can reach that 1:1 situation. They need to address them.
"The key is for Barca to remain strong and financially sustainable. According to the latest Deloitte report, it was the [joint] third-highest earning club, which is still very impressive. Once they align their wage structure more appropriately, they will be competitive again."
Achieving 1:1 sooner rather than later could make a huge difference to the club's summer plans.
Finances in disarray was the reason Lionel Messi was effectively forced to leave Camp Nou back in 2021, having agreed a new contract with the club that then couldn’t be registered with La Liga.
Barca have also typically favoured free or loan signings in the past few seasons, spending just €33.4m on Oriol Romeu and Vitor Roque in 2023/24 but raising almost €80m through sales. A number of big contracts were also wiped from the books too, while it has generally opened the door to the first team for La Masia graduates like Gavi, Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi and Fermin Lopez.
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This article was originally published on 90min.com as La Liga president explains how Barcelona can sign players this summer.
