The simple fact of the matter is that the Blaugrana need to raise funds urgently if they want to actually be able to field their new arrivals, including the likes of Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski.
The club need to raise funds to sign Raphinha and Lewandowski
Much of the football world has been watching on and wondering just how they can do it, but Barcelona have a plan to be able to register all their new signings. The simple fact of the matter is that the Blaugrana need to raise funds urgently if they want to actually be able to field their new arrivals, including the likes of Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski. It will be no easy task to manage to comply with financial regulations, but the Catalan club is confident they will be able to make it work. The idea is that all the new signings will be available to face Real Sociedad on August 15. There’s no great mystery to the plan: sell, loan and reduce wages. Within that, many different cases will require a variety of approaches.
Xavi wants Frenkie de Jong
Some players are not in Xavi’s plans, and it is assumed that one way or another, they will end up leaving. On the other hand, some players have been involved in pre-season but are still very much available for transfer, such as Memphis Depay, who could be sacrificed due to the number of options in attack. Then there’s the case of Frenkie de Jong, which is different again. Xavi wants the Dutch midfielder, but the club need him to take a wage cut to stay. Otherwise, they will look to cash in to make way for the new arrivals. Thanks to the infamous financial manoeuvres Joan Laporta has made this summer, such as mortgaging off audiovisual rights, Barcelona can invest in signings what they make in outgoings.
However, that doesn’t mean they don’t still have a problem with the wage budget; they do and very much so. While the club are effusive on exact figures, the word is that 12 players in the squad are earning above their market value. The club’s aim is to rein in these excessive wages and, within a year, only to be paying competitive salaries, not over and above what players could expect to earn elsewhere. There is some optimism within the club as several players have already agreed to wage cuts. More will likely follow; those who don’t wish to will be shown the door.