FC Barcelona urgently needs to lighten its squad. Not yet complying with the 1:1 rule, it still has to register Joan García and Szczesny and has not yet finished the chapter on renewals and signings that the club wants to carry out. In terms of signings, it has already lost Nico Williams because it could not guarantee his registration to play for the team and wants to resolve the issue as soon as possible so that it can compete in the market. The exit operation is vital, and there are 4-5 players with the door open and waiting to resolve their future.
Road to 1:1
Barcelona is working hard to return to the 1:1 rule as soon as possible and is optimistic that the fair play issue can be resolved in July and that it will be under the rule in August and able to register the pending players on time. This situation is expected to be achieved with a favorable audit report, the recognition of VIP seats, a new sponsorship deal that is about to be finalized, and, above all, the departure of players who will leave money and free up salary space.
In this regard, the sale of Pablo Torre to Mallorca was announced this week. From this deal, Barcelona will free up 20% of the total, or around one million euros. On the other hand, as it is not subject to the 1:1 rule, it frees up 60% of the player’s salary amortization, which would be around 2.4 million. In total, this is just under 3.5 million, which, added to the approximately 8 million cleared with the loan of Ansu Fati to Monaco, leaves a space of around 12 million euros to work with.
The exit operation stalled
Ansu Fati and Pablo Torre were the easy and expected departures from the start of the transfer window, but there are other players on the way out whose future is still to be decided, delaying the team’s return to 1:1. The German coach would prefer to travel to the Asian tour without the departures, but there are complicated cases.
Barcelona must get their act together and speed up the transfer window if they do not want to repeat past mistakes.
The players with the door open are Pau Víctor, with Real Betis as the most likely destination, but the club is prioritizing his transfer and the financial demands are somewhat paralyzing his departure. However, the coach will give him minutes if he travels on the tour, as he is a good option in attack until a winger arrives. On the other hand, there is Iñaki Peña, who is looking abroad, but at the moment there is nothing advanced and he is training normally with Joan García and Szczesny, who are not yet registered. The player prioritizes staying in LaLiga if he is guaranteed a starting spot. The problem with him is that he has one year left on his contract and Barcelona wanted a transfer, even if it was symbolic, but it is looking more and more like he will terminate his contract.
Oriol Romeu is also looking to terminate his contract. He has returned from his loan spell at Girona and has already been told that he is not in the plans. Girona and other First Division clubs are waiting for this decision. In defense, the club wants Andreas Christensen to leave as he has a high salary, has one year left on his contract and will not renew, and he barely played last season due to various injuries. The player wants to stay and is making his departure difficult, as is Ter Stegen, who remains sidelined as the team returns to work. The club wants to let him go, but the captain is adamant that he wants to stay with the team, which will complicate matters in the crucial days ahead.
If the situation does not progress with these players, the club is considering making some painful sales in August, such as Marc Casadó in midfield. There is much to be resolved at Barça, which will travel to Asia with many unknowns.