Laporta, in the photo on the left, has been with the team during the pre-season before a decisive change. … [+]
Precisely what is going through the brains of Barcelona’s decision-makers is not entirely clear, but what is easier to gauge is the widespread surprise at how a club with ten-figure debt is doing.
A decisive season for Barcelona is approaching, with the Catalans spending lavishly on players in the transfer market. The Blaugrana have already secured the flagship signing of Robert Lewandowski, as well as Raphinha, Franck Kessie and Anders Christensen for more than €100m ($102m) in total, despite Kessie and Christensen getting in for free. That’s not to mention the high salary costs and the possibility of the active Frenkie de Jong sticking around after weeks of transfer speculation. Nor the prospect of more recruits.
If the additions fail to help Barcelona compete and win the top prizes, there will be more questions for president Joan Laporta and the board to answer. The strong investment brings greater pressure, especially with the issue of debt.
However, debt is not the final problem. Hypothetically, Barcelona could promise and suspend future debt payments while disbursing each transfer window. What is more worrying will be the club’s difficulty in attracting essential income if the team fails to displace Real Madrid as the top team in La Liga and struggle to become a force in the Champions League again. Spending big is a high-risk approach, and only one Laporta and sporting director Mateu Alemany seem willing to take. Other indebted super clubs would be more cautious, cutting costs and developing on the pitch year after year.
Barcelona sold the rights to its stadium brand to Spotify and has been considering other rights sales to raise funds for new players to reverse their fortunes. The problem with this is that it only goes so far. If next season doesn’t go as expected, the club could continue to sell more of itself, such as television rights and merchandise handling, over the next few campaigns to finance more investment. If it does not bear fruit, the club will not have the same autonomy to create new flows of money, since a greater part of its operating shares go to other entities. He would dig an even deeper hole for himself.
Barcelona started the summer window with some sneaky free transfers, but that changed after more expensive … [+]
The decision to raise cash injections hints at why Barcelona blocked CVC money to seek business elsewhere. Unlike the idea together with Real and Athletic Club, the money, approved by La Liga, could have strengthened his spending strategy in the future. Believing it can do more, it has looked for alternatives, choosing to sell more media rights to sixth street in the last week. He is playing his own game.
Meanwhile, some rumors suggest that Barcelona’s spending isn’t over yet, with Sevilla’s expensive Jules Kounde now linked despite Chelsea is his likely destination for some time. Considering what’s gone before, it’s hard to rule anything out, even if there are conflicting reports about which side is in prime position for his signature.
The club is already committed and needs the best team it can get after coming up short against Real Madrid, their next pre-season opponent in Las Vegas, last time in La Liga. However, signing more players will not solve everything. Teams across Europe often fail after recruiting en masse as players need time to adjust and adapt to a new style of play. That is the final challenge for Xavi as he prepares a team that he needs to get up and running soon, with the USA handing over the classic as a good test before the biggest games, starting with Real Sociedad in less than a month.
Whatever the consequences, it is telling that Barcelona are playing their rival in Las Vegas. Matches between the two will occur more frequently outside of Spain, with the Super Cup contests now being hosted in Saudi Arabia. Barcelona is hell-bent on receiving and spending as much as it can, maintaining its commercial value but knowing that if next season doesn’t go as planned, it will run out of resources to compete at the top.