Many people today wonder how Joan Laporta and Barcelona can claim that the club’s finances are healthy, yet they continue to struggle with problems when it comes to signing players, especially when it comes to registering them. These problems have been around for a long time, and Josep María Bartomeu is one of the main people blamed, but the current president of the club has inherited this legacy. The reality is that Can Barça still needs leverage, which is more like asset sales, transfers, or salary cuts in order to continue building a competitive squad.
And one of the clearest reflections of this delicate economic situation is the number of youth players who are playing under Hansi Flick. No one denies that Barcelona is accustomed to giving opportunities to young players who have been trained in the club’s philosophy, but it is clear to everyone that the Blaugranas, like Real Madrid and other powerful teams in Europe, are looking for market opportunities or players who are making a name for themselves in other teams and want to take a leap in their careers by moving to a bigger club.
Barcelona’s debt remains above €1 billion, and it is true that Joan Laporta has managed to stabilize the club’s finances and prevent it from becoming a public limited company. Since Joan Laporta became president of Barcelona, the levers have become famous, but they are nothing more than the sale of assets. Furthermore, controversy arises when some of these moves are controversial, such as the sale of Barça Studios, which ultimately did not receive the money from companies such as Libero, but which worked at the time to register players.
The origin with Messi and Neymar
One of the great protagonists of Barcelona in recent decades, for better or for worse, is Leo Messi. The Argentine footballer was paid above his means, as were many of his teammates, as Josep María Bartomeu inflated their contracts without any financial return that would allow them to maintain themselves. As a result of this mismanagement, in addition to the arrival of Covid, these renewals came with deferred salaries. In fact, the Rosario-born player finished receiving money from the club a few weeks ago despite having left several seasons ago. It should also be remembered that his departure was marked by this economic crisis, as Joan Laporta was unable to register him.
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⚠️MESSI’S PHARAOHIC CONTRACT that is RUINING BARÇA: €555,237,619.
➡️In 2017, he signed a contract that gives him up to 138 MILLION per SEASON. pic.twitter.com/3USXSZl2sw
— El Chiringuito TV (@elchiringuitotv) January 30, 2021
But to begin to understand the economic crisis facing Barça, we need to go back a little further. Neymar left in 2017 for PSG in exchange for his release clause, which was €222 million. Everyone knew how much money Barcelona had, and the signings of Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembélé cost more than what the Brazilian brought into the club’s coffers. Neither of them worked out. The former is currently in Brazil after several failed adventures without reaching the required level, while the Frenchman rejected Barça’s renewal offers and decided to leave for free. His destination was the Parisian club, where just over a month ago he won the Champions League, playing a starring role and becoming one of the candidates to win the Ballon d’Or.
Registrations
One of the major problems Barcelona has encountered is the registration of players. Javier Tebas, who loves to talk publicly about Barça’s finances, has stated on several occasions that the club’s finances are not as rosy as Joan Laporta makes them out to be. The most recent and high-profile case has been that of Dani Olmo. The Egarense player missed the first few games of last season and was granted a precautionary suspension until January due to Christensen’s injury, but in the first month of 2025 he was able to play thanks to a controversial decision by the CSD.
❗️ Javier Tebas, president of LaLiga, is accused of interfering in the ‘NO’ signing of Nico Williams.
His public statements and his meeting with the Bilbao club could have been key.
[Via @MiguelGalanCNFE ] pic.twitter.com/yJlprTL7BJ
— Som I Serem FCB (@Somhiseremfcb) July 7, 2025
If we go back a year or two, Barcelona made several signings at no cost because every euro counted. Christensen, Íñigo Martínez and Gündogan, who arrived on free transfers, had a clause in their contracts that allowed them to leave if they were not registered in LaLiga. The famous 1:1 rule that controls financial fair play in Spain does not leave much room for Barça, which is supposed to be complying with it, but in practice this does not seem to be the case because they still need to juggle to register new signings.
Nico, the latest victim
Right now, there is an excess in the wage bill, which is why the players who have been signed cannot be registered immediately after signing their contracts. It was Nico Williams who once again highlighted Barcelona’s financial problems. The Athletic Club player was the one who offered to swap San Mamés for Camp Nou, but the truth is that Javier Tebas’ statements leaving his registration up in the air meant that the Spanish international, fearing he would not be able to play, renewed with Athletic Club until 2035.
NICO WILLIAMS 2035. pic.twitter.com/UaasodVXFb
— Athletic Xtra (@AthleticXtra) July 4, 2025
The sports management has a tough job ahead to sell players and reduce the payroll. The departure of Ansu Fati, even if only on loan, as he has also renewed his contract to defer his salary, but they still need different sources of income to be able to sign their targets. Among them are Luis Díaz and Rashford, who will not come cheap, and while the club’s management is publicly saying that it is possible, these players are afraid of not ending up being registered.