If Xavi said that it was the time for the dispatches at Barça, the matter is raw. The club is caught in a diabolical triangle between its inherent financial problemss, with a galloping debt and a liquidity problem that it tries to solve with the activation of the famous economic levers (CVC, Barça Studios, BLM and credits); the tight economic control of LaLiga, which has to comply with the established norm; and the players who don’t want to leave. From the upper class, Frenkie de Jong has already said that he will not move from Barça even if there is an offer. And from the lower class, Braitwaite and Lenglet are also already saying that they feel fantastic even if they are not going to play for a minute. Not to mention Pjanic, who he says sees himself staying two more years in Barcelona…
Planning, then, is in danger. If not execution, yes at least delay. Just what Xavi doesn’t want. The summer aims to be very long and suffered in Barcelona, although what is really surprising are the movements of the club knowing how suffocated it is financially. Barça has confirmed the signing of four players who are not, of course, cheap. Jordi Cruyff and Mateu Alemany have reached agreements with Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessié, César Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso. In addition, he has a verbal agreement with Lewandowski to sign for the next three years and another with Carlos Soler to arrive in case Frenkie de Jong leaves.
To activate these operations, Barça must activate exits, but that is not going to be easy. In addition to De Jong, players like Neto, Braithwaite, Mingueza, Umtiti, Lenglet or Braithwaite should leave something in the club’s coffers. Also Sergiño Dest, another of those who has said that they do not plan to move and that they are one of the few assets that Barça has to make money unless, as a few months ago, the red button is pressed with Gavi if there is still no agreement for the extension and the club accepts some of those offers that fly over Can Barça from Bayern, Liverpool, Chelsea or Everton.
In circumstances like this, and with salaries still soaring, renewals like Dembélé’s become practically impossible, especially if you take into account that footballers like Aubameyang will replace a large part of their salary next year. The presence of captains such as Busquets, Piqué or Alba, who have very high chips after having reduced their salary, also leave Barça with no room for maneuverthat you will have to activate your creativity to find solutions.
LaLiga has already made it clear that the rules are the rules. “I have read some statements in which Joan Laporta has said that there was no complicity in LaLiga. I did not like them, because complicity means that there is bullshit and doing what you want. If that is understood by complicity, there is not even with him Barcelona nor with any club”, Tebas warned him. In the same vein, Óscar Mayo, general director of LaLiga, stated: “Tebas is correct, LaLiga is not complacent nor does it help one club more than another, it acts the same for everyone”. Things are so bad at Barça that the renewal of Sergi Roberto, scheduled for this Wednesday, had to be postponed. “We plan to renew it, but fairplay is blocking us…”. That’s the term. Barça is blocked.