2023-05-30 19:45:53
BarcelonaAt the end of April, all football clubs had to submit the budget for the 23/24 season to the League so that it could calculate the salary cap for each entity. But Barça were required to go further and present a viability plan two years ahead. The fact of having used the “leverage”, the sale of assets, to obtain extraordinary income, made the employer increase its economic control. That’s what the regulations say.
The club chaired by Joan Laporta made a very ambitious projection for this summer market. Things have not changed: it continues to be exceeded, with a wage bill above the established limit. And since Barça wants to make signings, it asked the League to return to the 1:1 rule. In other words, to stop being overpaid and to be able to allocate every euro obtained for the departure of a footballer to finding a replacement. To achieve this goal, spending had to be drastically cut. The club committed to this through the viability plan. At first glance, the employers considered the proposal “coherent”, although it requested more documentation from Barça before validating it. In the offices they expect an imminent response from the League and are convinced that it will be affirmative.
However, the fact that the viability plan is approved does not mean that Leo Messi has free rein to return to Barça. At this point in the film, everyone knows that Laporta is working hard to convince the Argentinian striker, who has split pears with PSG and has two proposals on the table: a firm, multi-million dollar one from Saudi Arabia; and the other from the Blaugrana club, pending to be specified depending on the approval of the League and the money that ends up entering the coffers from the sale of signings.
Queue of priorities before signing Messi
Therefore, the viability plan is not enough. It’s just a first step. From here, Barça will have to start making room in the dressing room, selling players and generating more salary margin. The money, in the absence of levers, comes out of two sections. The first, what the club saves in wages. And the second, the profit that has been obtained in case of transfer. In other words, the amount entered minus the amount still to be amortized from their signing – which is zero in the case of players who have come free or who have trained in the youth system. In addition, there is a queue of operations that must be done imminently and that will rival the arrival of Messi. Especially the inscriptions of Gavi and Araujo. The renewals of Sergi Roberto, Marcos Alonso and Iñaki Peña must also be validated. And, finally, the signing of Iñigo Martínez, the Athletic Club centre-back who arrives on a free transfer and who has already committed – although it has not been made official – to Barça.
The importance of receiving the yes from the League is best understood with an example. As long as Barça is in excess, the hypothetical sale of Ansu Fati for 50 million would mean that the club could only allocate 40% of this money and 20% of his fee to signings. On the other hand, with the 1:1 rule, everything that is entered and what is saved in salary could be used to find one or more spare parts.
Of course, there is a clause to avoid cheating. The viability plan also implies that Barça undertakes to comply with certain financial parameters for the next two seasons. One affects debt. The club will agree a figure with the League and, if it does not meet it, if it deviates by more than 10%, it will be penalized and will automatically be unable to sign for a year. Having the authorization to register players is conditional on not stretching your arm more than your sleeve.
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