LaLiga’s Financial Fair Play and Barcelona’s Challenges
LaLiga enforces some of the strictest Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules in European football to ensure clubs manage their finances responsibly. Central to this is the Squad Cost Limit (SCL), which caps how much a club can spend on player salaries, transfers, and related costs based on its revenue, expenses, and debt.
For the 2024/25 season, Barcelona’s SCL rose to €426 million, up from €270 million the previous year. This improvement was driven by asset sales, sponsorship deals (like the one with Spotify), and reduced debts. However, Barcelona still carries a massive €1.2 billion debt, including deferred player wages, which significantly impacts their financial flexibility.
To stay within the SCL, Barcelona must ensure total squad costs (targeted at 70% of annual income) don’t exceed their limit. While the club earned around €896 million in 2023/24 from matchday income, TV rights, sponsorships, and merchandise, high expenses, including a wage bill close to €400 million, leave them little room to maneuver.
Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor: The Registration Drama
In August 2024, Barcelona signed Dani Olmo from RB Leipzig for €55 million, with an annual salary of €10 million gross. They also brought in Pau Víctor, a young talent, for €5 million and a salary of €2 million. These moves strengthened the squad but created a new problem: Barcelona’s squad costs exceeded the €426 million cap.
Initially, Olmo and Víctor were registered because Andreas Christensen, injured for the season’s first half, left a temporary gap. However, with Christensen’s return, Barcelona needed a permanent solution to comply with LaLiga’s rules.
Negotiations with LaLiga and the Deadline Rollercoaster
Selling VIP Suites for €100 Million – Barcelona’s primary solution to meet La Liga’s FFP requirements was to sell VIP suites at the Camp Nou for a period of 20 years, intending to generate €100 million.
- On December 30, La Liga received the initial documentation from Barcelona. However, upon reviewing these documents, La Liga requested additional information to verify the deal. Specifically, they demanded proof that the club had already received the €100 million payment, after previous issues with Barca Studios’ delayed payments had caused compliance errors.
- Barcelona had sold VIP box exploitation rights for €100M to two companies, one from Qatar and the other from Dubai. The Qatari company paid €30M by December 31, but the Dubai company delayed its €28M payment until January 3 due to banking complications on New Year’s Eve.
One key aspect of this situation lies in the rigid rules of La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) regarding player registrations. A player registered as a professional for a club cannot be re-registered for the same club within the same season. For example:
- Atlético Madrid’s Samuel Omorodion faced this rule last season. After being registered by Atlético, he was loaned out. When Atlético sought to recall him mid-season, they were barred and had to loan him to another club instead.
- Similarly, FC Barcelona faced a similar situation with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang during the 2022-2023 season. After registering him at the start of the season, Barcelona sold him to Chelsea. They later attempted to re-sign him during the winter transfer window, only to be blocked by La Liga rules.
As the December 31, 2024 (deadline was January 1st), Barcelona engaged in negotiations with LaLiga to seek approval for their proposed financial maneuvers. The club argued that their projected revenues from the VIP box sales and sponsorship deals were concrete enough to allow for the registration of Olmo and Víctor. However, LaLiga rejected these projections, stating they did not meet the required certainty for compliance with FFP rules. Barcelona also sought assistance from the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), requesting an emergency license to register the players. They argued « force majeure, » claiming unforeseen delays in financial transactions. The RFEF initially appeared supportive, but their decision was ultimately contingent on LaLiga’s approval.
Return to the 1:1 Rule
Barcelona’s return to LaLiga’s 1:1 financial rule is a game-changer. Under the stricter 1:4 rule, they could only spend €1 for every €4 saved or earned, drastically limiting their spending. The 1:1 rule restores parity, allowing them to spend €1 for every €1 saved or generated.
For example, selling a player for €10 million or cutting wages by €10 million now allows Barcelona to reinvest the entire amount !
A Legal Gray Area
Barcelona is challenging a clause in the Spanish Federation’s statutes that limits player registration to a single instance per season. This regulation aims to prevent abuse but fails to account for unique scenarios, such as temporary player registrations due to teammate injuries. Barcelona argues that their situation doesn’t align with the statute’s intent, citing a precedent involving Aubameyang during the 2022 season. However, unlike Aubameyang, Olmo and Pau Victor’s licenses were annulled not due to transfers or player decisions but because of administrative delays. This distinction creates a legal gray area the club hopes to exploit, potentially creating new precedents in Spanish football.
Barcelona will appeal to the CSD (Spanish Sports Council) to request a temporary measure allowing Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor to play. If unsuccessful, they may escalate to ordinary courts.
The issue arises because RFEF rules prohibit a player from having two licenses with the same club in one season. Dani Olmo’s initial license expired on 31/12, and to renew it, the club needed financial clearance (the return to the 1:1 rule) before this date. However, Barcelona only achieved the 1:1 compliance yesterday, meaning they missed the deadline.
While the return to 1:1 is excellent news for future transfers, this specific issue with Olmo and Víctor remains tied to the licensing rules.
Stay tuned for more updates on Barcelona’s efforts to meet LaLiga’s rules and register their players!