Barcelona have agreed to deals with Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen. However, neither player has been formally declared by the club as yet. Following the expiration of their contracts with Chelsea and AC Milan, respectively, the Blaugrana will be signing both players on a free transfer.
Due to Barcelona’s terrible financial situation, neither player’s moves have been officially finalized. Christensen and Kessie would be registered only after a few players are released. The club is currently drowning in debt. Before using some financial maneuvers to bring Ferran Torres from Manchester City on board, they also had trouble signing him in January.
The Blaugrana however intend to announce the Christensen and Kessie signings soon, because they are certain that they can accommodate both in their pay allocation, according to the Spanish news site Diario AS. Barcelona are now constrained by the ‘one in four’ regulation of La Liga, which only permits them to spend €1 million for every €4 million they save.
Barcelona are in a difficult financial situation
In order to announce the additions of Christensen and Kessie, manager Xavi may have to release a few more players and lower their pay budget. That highlights the club’s current precarious situation and casts doubt on the signings of stars like Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha.
Lewandowski in particular has been linked to Barcelona and is eager to sign with them since his desire is to move on from Bayern Munich. However, in order for the Blaugrana to complete both of these transactions during the same transfer window, special efforts would be needed.