Barcelona have been asked to reduce their wage bill from £231m to 174m ahead of the coming season by LaLiga. Their total spend on players amounts to £421 million, including wages and amortisation costs that are still left, which is well above league limits. As a result, they have been asked to cut down on their wage bill to remain compliant with Financial Fair Play Rules.
Players such as Frenkie De Jong are some of the most affected, with the Dutchman’s contract running until 2026. The club will have to account for the £65 million transfer fees when his deal runs out, and other moves such as those for Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and potentially Joao Felix and Cancelo could add to their wages.
Barcelona remain financially challenged with new FFP ruling
The club appealed to account for their future earnings from media and TV now so that they could comply with the FFP rules. But, that has been rejected by UEFA and they have been left with no other choice but to negotiate lower wages.
Lewandowski, Ronald Araujo, De Jong and Pedri are some of the highest earners in the team. And they might have to sacrifice some amount of their wages now that the ruling has called for a further cut.
Barcelona have made use of free signings in recent windows to ease the pressure on their accounts. The likes of Ilkay Gundogan, Inigo Martinez, Franck Kessie and Eric Garcia have joined the club as free agents to help the club cut down on transfer expenses, but it hasn’t helped them all that much.
Barcelona’s woes with financial fair play started back when they were unable to extend Lionel Messi’s contract in 2021. And it continues to haunt them now, three years later, with non compliance warranting a possible ban from the UEFA Champions League.
What will happen if Barcelona don’t reduce their wage bill?
They could be banned from the Champions League.
