Barcelona ‘know’ they won’t return to 1:1 salary limit spending rule this summer

Barcelona have struggled to find space in their salary limit for new signings for some time, and despite numerous relaxations of the spending rules, the Blaugrana are set for another summer shrouded in doubt. That is despite leasing out 475 VIP seats for 30 years in December to the tune of €100m.

Since the infamous ‘economic levers’ summer, now four years ago, Barcelona have not had been in the black when it comes to their salary limit yet. This January, Barcelona were briefly in that position, which they used to register Dani Olmo and Pau Victor, although that was only accepted after a legal challenge.

For a fourth summer in a row, RAC1 report that Barcelona will not be within their salary limit, and thus will only be able to invest 50% of what they sell and save in new players again this summer. The decisive factor was thought to be whether Barcelona could include the income from their VIP seats lease, after auditors Crowe omitted it from their April accounts.

The Blaugrana are working to ensure that the VIP seats are delivered before the end of their fiscal year in June, and that Crowe readmit the sale into their balance sheet. Yet even if that is approved, it will not be sufficient to return within their salary limit.

On a number of occasions, President Joan Laporta has declared that they would return to the so-called 1:1 rule, later claiming that La Liga have altered the rules or changed their mind about what income can be included in the calculations. Ultimately though, Barcelona have struggled to break even in recent years.

The board have pointed out that without the devaluation of Barca Vision as a product, they would have done so, but the Catalan giants finished the year with losses of just over €90m.