More money woes for Barcelona as LaLiga slashes spending limit،
Barcelona's annual spending cap has been reduced by a further 66 million euros ($71 million), from 270 million euros to 204 million euros, LaLiga announced on Tuesday.
Real Madrid maintain the highest cap hit in the Spanish league at €727 million, while Atlético Madrid are also higher than Barça at €303 million.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (US)
After being cut by €400 million in September, the latest caps reveal the scale of the challenge facing Barca as they attempt to become competitive again in the transfer market.
Sources have told ESPN that the team's costs – what the cap regulates – amount to more than 400 million euros, more than double the limit imposed by La Liga.
As a result, the Catalan club is subject to financial restrictions. They are only allowed to spend a percentage of what they save on salaries or transfer fees, with the percentage varying depending on the size of the saving.
For the current season — and to encourage spending given the problems faced by many Spanish clubs in the transfer market — clubs that exceed their limit can spend 50% of their savings and 60% if the economy made on the departure of a player represents more than 5% of their spending limit.
If there is no correction before the summer, this could pose a problem for Barça when it comes to registering players already at the club – Iñigo Martínez and Vitor Roque are only registered until in the summer, for example – and to recruit new recruits.
Barça's latest reduction is linked to a series of factors. This is partly due to the continued diminishing effect of 'palancas' – assets sold by the club in 2022 to improve its short-term finances – which increased their limit to €656 million at the start of the 22 -23 campaign.
However, the money from one of those asset sales – Barça Studios, since renamed Barça Vision – was never paid in full and led to the club selling it back last summer to a company called Libero. This money has still not arrived.
The club's revenue for the current season has also been affected by a temporary move to the city's Olympic Stadium while work is undertaken to redevelop Spotify Camp Nou. President Joan Laporta recently revealed that ticket sales had failed to match budget forecasts.
Behind Madrid, whose enormous limit suggests that finding space for Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappé will not pose a problem financially, Atlético, Barça, Sevilla (€155 million) and Real Sociedad (€144 million) complete the top five.
Surprise package Girona's limit remains at €52m, the 15th highest in the championship, while Alavés has the lowest limit in the division at €31m.
The limit is roughly determined by the difference between a team's revenue minus non-athletic expenses and debt payments.
The final figure represents the maximum amount clubs should spend on salaries, bonuses and transfer allowances in a season, not the amount they necessarily spend.
In addition to costs related to the operation of the men's first team, it also covers expenses related to other teams, such as reserve teams, women's teams and basketball facilities.
