LaLiga president Javier Tebas has claimed that Barcelona will likely have to sell a few stars to ease spending concerns. The Catalan club has endured financial issues for at least a year now. League officials previously charged the team with Financial Fair Play (FFP) violations in January of 2023.
Since then, Barca has been finding creative ways to help curb their financial troubles. Making a net profit in the recent transfer market was a key component of this. However, they have also opted to shut down Barca TV, sold squares of Camp Nou grass, and continued to schedule lucrative friendlies.
Nevertheless, Tebas claims that the moves need to continue for Barca to meet the league’s spending cap. “They have two or three top-class players they can sell,” Tebas stated at the Financial Times Summit. “If they sell them, then they can solve a great part of their program. With that, they can generate income that doesn’t generate debt interest and can pay players.”
LaLiga President: Barcelona’s problems are not significant long-term issues
Along with the previous FFP charge, LaLiga also recently slashed Barca’s spending limit by around $70 million. Despite these moves, Tebas does not believe the club’s current standing as one of the top teams in the world will be affected.
The top LaLiga executive was directly asked whether or not Barca could become Ajax. The Dutch side is the most prominent team in the Netherlands but has a reputation for selling a majority of their top players for profit. They then use part of the obtained transfer fees to find other youthful diamonds in the rough.
“That’s not going to happen,” proclaimed Tebas. “Barcelona will get out of the situation it is in. Barcelona has options to take when its leaders decide that they believe will provide solutions.”
“Barcelona is a club that earns almost a billion. As happens to many clubs, it is going through a complicated situation and our ‘fair play’ forces it to be where it is. As far as I know, they have not been eliminated from the Champions League and they can still win the Spanish league. There is no need to be so catastrophic about Barcelona.”
Barcelona executive has no intention to sell stars despite LaLiga claims
Despite the comments by Tebas, Barca’s sporting director Deco recently claimed that the club does not want to lose their top players. “The idea is not to sell anyone, on the contrary, to try to strengthen ourselves,” said Deco. “We don’t need many things, but we don’t want to sell. We are counting on everyone.”
This, however, could very well just be a tactic ahead of the summer transfer window. Barca publicly declaring that they must sell players would only hurt their negotiating position. Instead, the Spanish side will hope that they can get full value for stars. This is, of course, assuming that the club does need to sell key players this summer.
Barca could also help bring in more money this year by changing their official jersey sponsor. The club has had a deal in place with Nike ever since 1998. However, recent reports out of Spain say that the team could soon explore their options elsewhere. According to the claim, Puma is willing to beat Nike’s current offer by some margin.
PHOTOS: IMAGO.
