Barcelona‘s sporting management team, which consists of Xavi Hernandez, Mateu Alemany and Jordi Cruyff, have undertaken a long-term assessment of the squad and are working on ways to ensure that the Blaugrana remain competitive in the future.
Once the season is over, it’s time to start making decisions and putting into action a long-term strategy, because Cruyff, Xavi and Alemany have already done their study in this area.
Now Barcelona cannot make signings
Barcelona are, however, completely unable to make any movements at this moment in time, as there isn’t any cash available. Absolutely nothing at all. Therefore, they are currently unable to sign either Robert Lewandowski or Raphinha.
Even the cheapest ones, such as Marcos Alonso or Cesar Azpilicueta, aren’t inexpensive. Because, if they want to sign them, they will have to put a few million euros on the table, which was not originally anticipated.
Financial Fair Play
And the answers aren’t forthcoming, despite the fact that Barcelona‘s Financial Fair Play issue has been ongoing for some time. Joan Laporta and his directors have known about it since they took control, but the reality is that there are still no remedies after all this time. There have been numerous discussions, attempts to sell assets, and agreements with CVC… yet the club still has a lot of debt.
Deals on track
The worst part about this impasse is that opportunities are disappearing. There are certain players who are ready to wait for Barcelona to carry out their plans, but only to a point. Several deals have been agreed upon and all conditions settled, but they are awaiting the necessary funds. This has ramifications for both new player signings and player renewals.
The Dembele saga
Ousmane Dembele is an excellent example. The player wants to work out a deal with Barcelona, but the club is unable to meet his demands because there isn’t the money available. They will find it tough to increase their offer, which is why keeping the Frenchman at the Camp Nou was always going to be a tough task.
Thursday saw a day of speculation surrounding Dembele. It was reported that he had already told the club of his decision to depart and that he had rented out his home, but both reports are untrue. And news arrived from France that Paris Saint-Germain had closed their doors to him and had no plans to reopen talks ahead of the upcoming season.
Drastic measures
The scarcity of funds is causing a great deal of anxiety. Laporta has already mentioned harsh measures, which could result in a new conflict with the squad. With the legal concerns that this entails, the president is considering new wage cuts or perhaps contract terminations.
He sought to come up with formulas with LaLiga in order to increase the salary cap margin. Javier Tebas, on the other hand, made it plain and simple that they will not make any concessions for Barcelona.
Sale of players
The Barcelona president is vague about the arrangements he has in place for asset sales or with CVC to seek additional funding. Laporta has reached a dead end.
Either he accepts long-term agreements that are bad for the club, or he will have no choice but dramatically reduce wages or sell players who would be able to fetch a decent fee. Meanwhile, Xavi is waiting for answers with bated breath because he knows he won’t be able to compete next season with this squad.
Marca
