Barcelona are facing more transfer woes after they secure the acquisition of Marcos Alonso from Chelsea and was reported to the Federation International Football Association (FIFA) for fraud.
Barcelona signed Marcos Alonso in the summer of last year, but a fourth division club side Union Adarve who he (Alonso) has represented as a youth player are claiming that they should have collected £91 million as part of the deal.
Alonso spent some time at Adarve despite being a product of the Real Madrid junior system and making one appearance with the senior squad.
According to a report, Union Adarve has proof of the two clubs formally negotiating for Alonso, the club also claims that the deal was part of Pierre Emerick Aubameyang’s transfer from Barcelona to Chelsea.
However, Barcelona are less concerned by the claims, with the Spanish International having lessened his payment significantly to join the Catalan on a one year deal.
What worries Barcelona is how La Liga will react to this. Barça has taken La Liga to court to register Gavi, the latest episode in a long-running feud between Joan Laporta and La Liga President Javier Tebas.
The Spanish international originally signed a one-year deal with the Catalan giants, but they recently extended it until June 2024 with a €50 million buyout option.
Since joining Barcelona, Alonso has scored twice in 21 games so far this season.
Under the leadership of club veteran Xavi, they are currently eight points ahead of Real Madrid and sitting atop La Liga standing.
The city of Barcelona has experienced significant economic difficulties in recent years. To have Gavi’s new contract recognized, they had to sue La Liga.
At first, Gavi’s new contract with the Catalan club was not officially recognized by La Liga due to the team’s salary exceeding the league’s salary cap.
Barcelona has been able to obtain one-time cash infusions for substantial future revenue since last summer.
However, their payroll is still reportedly 20% higher than La Liga’s maximum squad spending limit.
This season, the club had planned on at least making it to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League, therefore their failure to advance out of group stage play has cost them an unexpected £18 million.
Even though a Europa League title would net £13 million, such an outcome is far from assured.
Ronald Araujo signed a new deal with Barcelona last year, but the club has been unable to officially list him as a first-team player.
Because of their financial difficulties, it appears that Xavi’s team will not be able to re-sign PSG star Lionel Messi, and their summer transfer activity will largely consist of free agents.
Alonso, the 32-year-old veteran played in his 22nd game for Barca and scored the game’s first goal with a header against Manchester United in their Europa League play-off tie.
