Barcelona President Joan Laporta disputes Javier Tebas words over 1:1 rule

Less than 24 hours after La Liga President Javier Tebas claimed that Barcelona were not under their salary limit, and by proxy, in the so-called ‘1:1 spending rule’, Barcelona chief Joan Laporta has directly disputed that idea. After making noises about potential signings, Laporta told the Barcelona senate that they were indeed under said rule.

On Wednesday Barcelona confirmed the signing of Joan Garcia from Espanyol, after paying his €25m release clause. Tebas was optimistic about their ability to register Garcia, but told the press that the Blaugrana would need to make sales in order to pull off a deal for and then register Athletic Club winger Nico Williams. Something Laporta disagrees with.

After teasing the signing of Williams, for whom Barcelona must activate another release clause, this time of the value of €58m, Laporta explained to Marca that they could ‘sign normally.’

“It’s a source of satisfaction because we’ve worked hard during this time of economic recovery. Regarding the salary margin, it’s allowed us to comply with the 1:1 rule granted by La Liga. Last year, it was tight, but we achieved it, and now we’re in this relationship, which is why we signed Olmo and Pau Victor.”

“They put a lot of obstacles in our way, but we got there. We can sign normally and are no longer under La Liga’s extra spending restrictions. We’re close to making an imminent signing, and we’ll be able to make another signing, which we’re excited about. They put a lot of obstacles in our way, but we comply with the regulations.”

On Wednesday, Director of Football Deco and Bojan Krkic traveled to Ibiza, where Williams is on holiday, and continued to advance his signing. Personal terms are reportedly agreed with Williams, and Laporta was positive about their economic situation, saying that the work that has been done on their finances is finally being seen.