Barcelona is at risk of losing their two new signings, Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie, before their 2022-2023 La Liga opener against Rayo Vallecano.
2022-2023 La Liga kicks off on August 12, 2022, with Osasuna and Sevilla battling each other in a Friday opening encounter. Barcelona will host newly-promoted side Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou for their opening fixture on Saturday, August 13. The Blaugrana may be dragged into an unprecedented drama in La Liga history as their face-off with La Liga continues.
Barcelona face the risk of not being able to field their new signings in their La Liga opener if they cannot register players.
FutballNews gathered that as of today, Thursday 11th August 2022, the Spanish giants are yet to register their new signings, including those that have renewed their contract with the club – Sergio Roberto and Ousmane Dembele.
Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie, who have arrived at Camp Nou on a free transfer, may choose to trigger a clause that will allow them to leave the club if they are not registered before the La Liga opener on Saturday against Rayo Vallecano. The situation is dire for the Spanish giants.
What Happened?
Barcelona slipped into a series of financial troubles on the eve of the 2019 Covid pandemic. The club could not foot the wage bills of players on their payroll. The first casualty of Barcelona’s financial woes was Lionel Messi. Although the club was keen and eager to keep the player, it was evident that it was impossible to keep Lionel Messi, despite the latter accepting a pay cut, without collision with La Liga Fair Play Rules.
Recall that Lionel Messi left Camp Nou for PSG as Barcelona’s financial woes deepened. In 2022, amidst a brewing financing crisis, the La Liga giants are one of the top clubs in Europe with the highest transfer spending in the 2022 transfer window. The club has spent a whopping £143m on the 2022 transfer market.
Apart from Christensen and Franc Kessie, who joined the club on a free transfer from Chelsea and AC Milan, respectively, the Blaugrana brought in Roberr Lewandowski from Bayern Munich for €50m, Raphinha from Leeds, €65m, Jules Koubde from Sevilla, €55m, and Pablo Torre from Racing Santander, €5m.
Meanwhile, the club’s debt profile has exceeded €1b. With mounting debt and skyrocketing transfer spending figures, Barcelona are set on a collision route with La Liga Fairplay rules.
Already, their attempt to register their new signings has been blocked by La Liga. The Spanish football governing agency expects the club to liquidate some of its assets to offset a mounting debt before it can register more players.
Meanwhile, the club has embarked on measures to liquidate its assets to avoid a clash with La Liga. Some of its assets have already been sold out. 10% of its TV rights have been sold to an American Firm, with another 15% earmarked for sale again. They have raised about £176m from liquidating some financial assets before striking a deal with Sixth Street for more sales. 49.9% of Barca Licensing and Merchandising has also been sold out with estimated revenues projected at €600m.
While presenting the newly signed players at Camp Nou, Barcelona President, Joan Laporta, stated that they have done the needful to have their new signings registered.
But it has been confirmed that they are yet to meet their financial obligations. The likes of Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie who arrived on a free transfer may likely trigger exit clause if they are not registered with less than 24 hours to the kick off of 2022-2022 La Liga season.
