No January signings for Barca due to financial fair play, says Laporta

Barcelona president Joan Laporta said on Tuesday that the club may not be able to sign players in the January transfer window due to the Spanish La Liga’s financial fair play rules.

Barca’s accounts are “healthy” again, he said, with an expected income this season of €1.23 billion and a budgeted profit of €274 million.

“We had to make some levers, which were economic operations that saved the club from ruin, and now the club is in economic recovery,” Laporta said.

“But despite that, according to the rules of financial fair play of the Spanish league, we cannot sign.

“Us and some other La Liga clubs are also trying to convince La Liga to be more flexible, and allow us other types of interpretations that can make Barcelona even stronger.”

Barcelona recorded a profit of €98 million for the 2021-22 financial year, it said in September.

To offset losses and comply with La Liga’s financial fair play rules, the club sold 25 per cent of their domestic television rights and a 49 per cent stake in Barca Studios for more than €700 million.

That allowed Barcelona to spend more than €150 million in the close season on Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde.

Laporta added that Barcelona needed to generate more income and reduce costs.

He insisted, however, that the financial fair play “should be harmonized” in all European leagues “because there are inequalities in this regard”.

“It is more flexible in the (English) Premier League than in Spain and it doesn’t make much sense to me,” Laporta said.

The 60-year-old also said earlier this week that Barca are set to receive an initial bonus of €1 billion if the European Super League goes ahead.

The breakaway league project was launched in April 2021 but collapsed just 48 hours later following the withdrawal of Premier League clubs and the public and political backlash that followed the idea.

Barca, together with Real Madrid and Juventus, however, are still among the 12 founding clubs involved in the project, and Laporta believes the league will solve the club’s financial woes.

“For starters, there would be a bonus of €1 billion for the founding clubs,” Laporta said.

“Per season, we could get around €300 million annually in this competition. Moreover, the key to the Super League is that it will be governed by the clubs. UEFA, obviously, would be there at the governing table, but the clubs would be a majority.”

 

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES