Barcelona told to get finances in order ahead of next season
FT Desk
- 22 Oct 2022 13:20 BST
- 3 min read
Barcelona have been warned that they will have to get their house in order if they hope to avoid financial sanctions from La Liga next season.
The Catalan giants have struggled greatly with the league's salary cap as of late after the pandemic and years of poor economic administration left the club with a massive level of debt.
This summer, though, newly re-elected president Joan Laporta oversaw an ambitious spending program which saw the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde all arrive at Camp Nou for sizeable transfer fees.
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Barcelona financed that spree through the exercising of economic 'levers', essentially selling off club assets and leveraging projected future income in exchange for a short-term injection of funds.
As a result of the levers Barca were able to register all of their new signings for the start of the 2022-23 campaign, though they had to wait until the very last minute to see whether they would come in under La Liga's allotted salary cap.
But they have already suffered an early blow to their projected finances as a disappointing Champions League group phase leaves them on the verge of elimination, which would cost them millions in lost income.
Barca ordered to cut spending
La Liga president Javier Tebas played down the effects of missing out on the European knock-out stages but insisted that Laporta and the Barca board must present balanced books next year, as a similar gambit to that deployed over the summer would not be acceptable.
“If they go out of the Champions League, they will have less income but they will not have to pay bonuses," Tebas explained at an awards ceremony.
"That will not change much. But the levers have worked for them this season but not for the next one.
"They have to reduce salary mass, they cannot continue with more than 500 million euros.
"Because if not next season we will find the 1/4 rule for them again.”
The club's current cap was set at €656 million following the exercising of the levers, meaning that as it stands Barca exceed Tebas' stipulated limit for 2023 by more than 25 per cent.
