Barca are financially hamstrung and haven’t made any big moves in the market, while their rivals continue to strengthen.
Here we are again. A summer transfer window involving Barcelona, complete with speculation, Instagram rumours and sly comments from their outspoken club president, Joan Laporta. Heard this one before?
Remarkably, it has now been two years since Laporta went on his lever-pulling frenzy, risking the Blaugrana’s future finances for short-term success. And, if the goal was immediate gratification and the avoidance of financial ruin, then it worked. Barca won La Liga, and, as a sporting entity, they still exist. Job done.
However, those problems haven’t gone away. The club’s finances have recovered to an extent – they are no longer perennially flirting with doom – but they don’t have the financial power to compete with Real Madrid or any of the rest of Europe’s top clubs.
Barca find themselves in a remarkably similar position to past years, penny-pinching while relying on player sales and a faltering brand to assemble a squad capable of competing. Thus far, the misses have outnumbered the hits, with the Catalans once again falling behind the European elite.
Barca’s finances are, admittedly, in a better state than they once were. It was hard to keep track of all of the moves Laporta was making two years ago. In effect, he sold future chunks of revenue off for short-term injections of cash, effectively keeping the club alive by making risky deals. In doing so, he put faith in the Barca brand, hedging his bets that organic growth and on-field success would be enough to make up the difference down the line. Put another way: Barca were too big to fail.
And in some senses, they have avoided crisis. They posted a net profit over the last financial year, and were able to make a signing in January in Vitor Roque – albeit a misguided one. But they are still far below the threshold required to be able to spend freely under La Liga’s strict financial regulations. Laporta and league president Javier Tebas are still exchanging jabs through the media. Meanwhile, no one seems to know if Barca can actually afford all of the big-money moves they have reportedly been flirting with.
