How can Barca afford to make signings this summer after Gordon deal?

The £69.3m signing of Anthony Gordon and the big-money pursuit of Julian Alvarez has raised questions over how Barcelona can afford such expenditure.

The Spanish giants were unable to register new signings until the last minute a year ago, but now they seem to have an abundance of cash for three key positions: striker, winger and centre-back.

The financial rules around how much clubs can spend in Spain work slightly differently from the UK. It is based on revenue and a squad-cost ratio, but they are set by LaLiga on a bespoke basis.

The key to Barcelona's ability to spend now is a return to what is called the 1:1 rule. Every Euro the club saves can be reinvested directly back into the squad on either transfer fees or wages. It was not the case before, when just a fraction of anything saved could be re-spent.

Another crucial change is that Robert Lewandowski has left the club and so they are now saving around €40m a year in wages, while they are currently not having to factor in covering any of Marcus Rashford's wages next season.

That might change, but Barcelona are also looking to sell some players, which will free up more finances. They offered Ferran Torres, for example, informally to Atletico as they seek a solution to signing Alvarez.

But it is not just the vacation of previously allotted funds that has changed things - it is also increased revenue due to the growth of the Spotify Camp Nou.

The stadium has been renovated and will soon reach a new capacity of 80,000, while the final capacity is expected to be more than 100,000.

That projected future revenue, as well as the sponsorship from Spotify, as well as winning LaLiga again, is all factored in when the budget for Barcelona's spending is set by the league and means they have money to throw at some exciting players this summer.

Why Barcelona prioritised Gordon over Rashford?

Anthony Gordon's move from Newcastle to Barcelona has raised more questions than answers.

Gordon passed a medical on Thursday before he was confirmed as a Barcelona player on Friday evening. Sky Sports News understands the fee is £69.3m (€80m) inclusive of add-ons and in agreeing a deal, the LaLiga giants have fended off competition from Bayern Munich.

But after Gordon scored only six league goals last season, it begs the question as to what makes him so appealing to Barca when Rashford is right there for less than a third of the price.

The club's hierarchy have remained hesitant to make the deal for the Manchester United forward permanent, yet they have shown none of that caution with his international team-mate despite their financial restrictions.

The question is, why does Gordon appeal so much to them and what does he offer that Rashford doesn't?Read Callum Bishop's full deep dive on Barcelona's decision to prioritise the signing of Gordon here.