BARCELONA must cut their wage bill to just £85million after Real Madrid were given the green light to spend SEVEN TIMES more.
The figure, which would not look out of place in the Championship, was calculated as part of LaLiga’s restrictions on spending.
League bosses announced the figures on Wednesday with Barcelona’s spending once again coming into focus after the exit of Lionel Messi.
The failure to keep the Argentine has also been questioned despite the club making a £400m loss last season, to rack up £1billion of debt.
The salary cap is calculated with each club’s profit and losses, leading to the Blaugrana’s dropping from £591m in 2019-20 to £330m last season – and now by a further £245m for 2021-22.
It is in stark contrast to Real Madrid, whose limit has risen from £404m to £638m – over £465m more than any other club.
Los Blancos did not spend a penny on a transfer fee between Reinier’s January 2020 arrival and the signing of Eduardo Camavinga on this summer’s deadline day.
Speaking on the latest limits, LaLiga corporate director Jose Guerra explained why Barcelona are feeling the pinch.
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He told reporters: “They acknowledge much higher losses than what they had initially estimated, so the impact is greater on their spending limit.
“If you take the £85m limit and add the losses, around £400m, we’re talking about £485m, which would be more normal. So it’s more or less stable.”
The punishments for breaching the cap is not expected to amount to much, particularly as LaLiga will take into account the coronavirus pandemic.
But Barcelona have already lost Messi and struggled to register new signings such as Sergio Aguero, with more incomings unlikely until the situation improves.
It has been said that club president Joan Laporta loaded extra losses onto last season’s accounts to improve next year’s outlook, having already called for greater ‘flexibility’ from league bosses over the spending rules.
But Guerra insisted that Messi’s exit was not a formality, and added: “I think there were solutions that could have kept Messi at the club, it was the club’s management that decided to use their resources differently.”
When football has punctured a lung – they haven’t wanted to absorb that loss of income. They must take measures.
Javier Tebas
Madrid’s status as holding by far Spain’s biggest cap limit will help their bid to bring in Kylian Mbappe as a free agent next season.
Sevilla sit second in the salary cap table, on £172m, before Atletico Madrid on £147m.
Diego Simeone’s side, like seventh-placed Barcelona, have felt greater ill-effects from the pandemic but are one of only five clubs being told to seriously cut back this season.
Among them are Valencia, who have been afforded the lowest wage bill of the division, at just £25m, following a torrid spell on and off the pitch.
LaLiga chief Javier Tebas has previously called on the likes of Barcelona to ‘take measures’ to control their finances – while praising Madrid.
Tebas stated in June: “The severity of the situation depends on the resources they are capable of generating.
“Barcelona have to restructure their debt. If they manage that, the situation won’t be serious.
“But they have taken their wage bill to the limit. And when football has coughed – or, better put, punctured a lung – they haven’t wanted to absorb that loss of income. They must take measures.
“There are other big clubs that have made a bigger effort to avoid it. Real Madrid have made a commendable effort to ensure their losses aren’t the same as Barcelona, who take the trophy for losses.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
