Barça is living in a constant dichotomy, with good performances on the pitch that point to more titles, but with uncertainty about what will happen in the transfer market and pending contract renewals given the problems the club is facing with its salary cap. This salary cap is forcing the club to make painful decisions and let players go in the summer in positions where there is overbooking in order to improve others that have been struggling this season or where they are looking to gain competition so as not to overload important players with minutes and thus avoid injuries.
Back to the salary cap
Barça has been struggling with financial problems for several seasons, which has led to several unusual situations, such as that of Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor, who needed a precautionary measure to be registered. The Catalan club had secured the 1:1 rule thanks to the allocation of VIP boxes, but LaLiga questioned this at every turn and ended up reducing the club’s salary cap.
This puts them back in a situation of excess and unable to sign or renew players without restrictions. LaLiga decided that the €100 million from the 475 VIP seats would not count towards this year’s budget as they are not yet real income for the club.
This is the main problem with names such as Rashford and Jonathan Tah, who have expressed their interest in joining Camp Nou on multiple occasions, but no matter how hard the Barça team works on negotiations, the reality is that it cannot commit to anything because, as we said, there are vital renewals such as those of Lamine Yamal, Jules Koundé, and Raphinha still to be finalized.
The Rashford case
The example of Rashford is clear. The player wanted to join in the January transfer window and had to look for another destination due to Barça’s inability to register him. During the winter transfer window, Deco did not consider Rashford’s addition to the Barça squad to be an urgent necessity given the team’s performance with the current squad and the club’s financial complications. Given this situation, the option of a loan was considered but could not be finalized, and the player ended up having to look for another way out of Manchester, where he had no place. Aston Villa had the striker’s name in mind, but the deal fell through and the player ended up having to look for another way out of Manchester.
The option of a loan was considered but could not be agreed, and the player ended up having to look for another way out of Manchester, where he had no place. Aston Villa had the striker in mind to strengthen their attack before the winter transfer window closed, and they did so when it became impossible to sign him for Barcelona.
In principle, the player does not want to continue there once the season is over, but he also does not want to return to Manchester, where he will have to leave permanently. The English newspaper ‘Mirror’ claims that his decision to leave Aston Villa has been made and that he is not particularly interested in continuing at United, as his relationship with coach Ruben Amorim is broken.
A decision made
If one thing is clear to Rashford, it is that he wants to move to Camp Nou next summer. His main goal is to play for Barça, and those close to him have already made it clear to the Blaugrana leadership that he is willing to take a significant pay cut to make the deal financially viable.
Barça have not ruled out the player, but given the economic situation and the limited space available for new signings, there are other more pressing priorities, such as the arrival of a left-back and a right-back. In addition, Ferran Torres’ excellent form has delayed the need to sign a new Lewandowski.