Barcelona remain adamant that they will not accept La Liga’s agreement with CVC and are instead expected to pursue further salary cuts in an attempt to balance the books.
President Joan Laporta has spoken openly about the club’s financial struggles, which were significantly worse before his arrival at Camp Nou in March 2021, although he has always been adamant that Barcelona will have money to spend this summer.
However, Catalunya Radio claim that things aren’t exactly going to plan. The club are believed to need to raise €590m before the end of the month if they want to start the new season in the green, and the business deals they have in the pipeline won’t cover that.
Laporta hopes to raise €200m through the deal to sell 49% of the club’s merchandising, with a further €200m projected to come in through a new audio-visual agreement, but that still leaves a whopping €190m that needs to be found.
The plan is believed to be further salary cuts and player sales, with Barcelona prepared to offload a handful of their biggest names to aid their transfer plans this summer.
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Frenkie de Jong is seen as a likely casualty, although the Dutchman has spoken openly of his desire to snub interest from Manchester United in favour of staying at Camp Nou.
More players will have to go to make room for Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie, who have already committed to joining the club, while Xavi has ambitious plans to sign Robert Lewandowski, Marcos Alonso, Cesar Azpilicueta, Jules Kounde, Raphinha and Bernardo Silva.
While it’s accepted that Barcelona won’t be able to afford all those players, Laporta still hopes to raise enough money to land three of four, with Lewandowski thought to be the top priority.
