The Blaugrana were assessed a punishment of €800k for going above the payroll cap three times in the previous year
In order to determine just how many and which players Barcelona can actually sign—or, more precisely, how many can fit under their salary cap—fans have spent a significant portion of the last 18 months conducting their own amateur accounting. The actual accountants, it seems, haven’t fared much better.
The contracts signed by Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, and Dani Alves all took them over the line, according to Diari Ara (via Goal).
Barcelona has filed a lawsuit against the sanctions, as is the trend these days. In the case of Alves, he was paid the minimum wage for the league and didn’t sign up until January. Christensen was signed before to the start of the transfer window in July 2022, but he was not registered. According to La Liga, this makes him eligible for the 2021–22 season, although Barcelona disputes this and says it should be included in the 2022–23 accounts. The Azulgrana have brought the issue before an RFEF-run second instance committee.
La Liga and Barcelona have fought over a different interpretation of the regulations before. The two have recently had a poor relationship as seen by Barcelona’s absence from the most recent La Liga AGM, save for a representative attorney.
This January, eight new rules regarding salary caps will go into effect, which many believe will prevent future teams from using the same asset sales strategy as Barcelona to get around the caps.
See More:
- 5 Barcelona Players Leaving: Top 5 Exits From Barcelona
- Top 5 Players Barcelona Could Sign In 2022 Summer
