Spanish LaLiga – Michmutters

Tag: Spanish LaLiga

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Why is Barcelona still spending, signing players and selling off parts of itself?

Why is Barcelona still spending, signing players and selling off parts of itself?

A month ago, Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann said what everyone who doesn’t own a vintage Seydou Keita jersey was thinking: “The only club that has no money, but buys every player they want. I do not know how. It’s kind of crazy.”

This was after Barcelona acquired 33-year-old Robert Lewandowski, scorer of 35 goals for Nagelsmann in the Bundesliga last season, for $49.5 million. Raphinha had already arrived from Leeds for $63.8m. It seemed “crazy” then … and then they spent another $55m on Sevilla defender Jules Kounde. They’ve also signed free agents Andreas Christensen from Chelsea and Franck Kessie from AC Milan, as well as resigning both Sergi Roberto and Ousmane Dembele once their previous contracts expired at the end of June. Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso is expected to join soon, and the club is reportedly still interested in Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva. The latter seems like a fantasy too far, but well, so did everything else until it all happened.

the how of all this — a club with over a billion dollars in debt and described as “clinically dead” by president Joan Laporta last season suddenly spending more on transfer fees than anyone else in the world — has been hashed out by many of our writers already this summer. In a word, which you must be sick of by now: levers. They’ve sold off a quarter of their future domestic broadcast revenue and a quarter of their in-house production company for a short-term cash infusion north of $600 million. More levers are being pulled, too, with news early on Friday — just 30 hours or so before their season opener, a home date with Rayo Vallecano — that the club was selling more in order to be able to register its signings.

Instead, I want to focus on a different question: why? Why is this once-great club selling off its future for a still-uncertain present? Can this really be as obviously short-sighted as it seems?

Laporta will make you think that they had to do this, that there was no choice but to totally revamp the squad with hundreds of millions of dollars of loans put toward a massive transfer outlay. However, that’s just not true.

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Barcelona finally register most summer signings after triggering fourth financial lever

Barcelona finally register most summer signings after triggering fourth financial lever

7:45 PM GMT

  • sam marsden

  • Moses Llorens

Barcelona have finally managed to register most of their summer signings ahead of the start of the new LaLiga season this weekend, with only Jules Kounde still to be registered.

Xavi Hernandez’s side kick off their season against Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou on Saturday, but the build up to that fixture has been dominated by the club’s race against time to get all their new arrivals registered.

– Stream every LaLiga match on ESPN+ (US only)
– LaLiga team-by-team preview: Can Barca return to top?
– Notebook: Barca not only LaLiga club with registration issues
– Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access

Barca have spent over €150 million this summer on Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Kounde, while Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie both arrived on free transfers.

Prior to Friday, however, none of them had been registered with LaLiga due to the league’s strict financial regulations.

The new contracts agreed by Ousmane Dembele and Sergi Roberto had not been signed off by the Spanish league either. However, that duo were also able to be registered on Friday — along with Lewandowski, Raphinha, Christensen and Kessie — following the sale of another 24.5% of Barca Studios.

Barca’s summer spending has been funded by the sale of club assets, with each deal dubbed a “financial lever” by president Joan Laporta.

They sold 25% of their domestic television income for the next 25 years to Sixth Street in two separate packages worth €511m in total. They then sold 24.5% of Barca Studios to Socios.com for an additional €100m.

However, despite raising over €600m, Barca were told by LaLiga last week they would need to sell more assets — or further reduce their wage bill — to be able to register all their new signings.

Barcelona will now have to free up salary space in order to register Kounde. Because they are no longer exceeding their squad limit, though, the club will now just have to free up the equivalent salary space to what Kounde will cost.

On Friday Barca, whose gross debt still totals over €1 billion, closed a deal with Orpheus Media to sell off another 24.5% of Barca Studios for €100m.

Meanwhile, they are also re-negotiating Gerard Pique’s contract with the defender to create further salary space.

Speaking earlier on Friday, Xavi said he was optimistic that most of his new recruits would be available to him against Rayo Vallecano.

“We are working on it, we’re positive,” he said at a news conference. “We have announced the fourth lever and we will see tomorrow, maybe not all 100%, but we are optimistic. We have time until tomorrow.

“It hasn’t had much influence because working on systems, tactics, different variations… One player can play or another because we are doubled up in positions. We work on positioning, systems, variants… so not much changes. But right now, I repeat, we are very optimistic about the registrations.”

All Spanish clubs must adhere to a spending cap for the season, which includes money spent on wages and transfer fees, which are amortized over the length of the contract.

The cap is loosely a club’s revenue minus outgoings and debt repayments and is applied prospectively. Barca’s cap was -€144m at the end of last season, the only negative limit in Spain, but it will rise significantly following the four financial levers triggered this summer.

Barca are not the only club having problems registering their players with LaLiga. Real Betis still have a handful of players not yet inscribed for the new season, while other clubs, including Sevilla, Celta Vigo and Girona, have had to wait until this week to register their summer activity.

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Barcelona signings Christensen, Kessie could leave club on free transfers if not registered in time

Barcelona signings Christensen, Kessie could leave club on free transfers if not registered in time

1:43 PM GMT

  • sam marsden

  • Moses Llorens

New signings Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie could both leave Barcelona for free if they are not registered before Saturday’s LaLiga opener against Rayo Vallecano, various sources have confirmed to ESPN.

Christensen and Kessie both joined Barca on free transfers earlier this summer from Chelsea and AC Milan respectively. With three days to go until the new campaign starts, however, neither has been registered with the Spanish league.

– Why can’t Barca register summer signings yet?
– The impact of Messi’s exit, one year on
– Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access

Sources have told ESPN that if they are not registered before Barca’s opening fixture against Rayo, both players could choose to execute a clause that allows them to leave for free.

Fellow summer arrivals Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde are also yet to be inscribed with LaLiga, while the contract renewals signed by Sergi Roberto and Ousmane Dembele have not been registered either.

ESPN understands Christensen and Kessie’s situations are slightly different, though, given they joined Barca for free. Therefore, if they so choose, they would be entitled to leave for free before the transfer window closes.

Sources say at this stage there is no indication it will come to that and president Joan Laporta continues to transmit optimism that all seven players will be registered in time, but Barca are cutting it fine before the start of the season.

In the worst case scenario, sources told ESPN Barcelona would seek to speak with the players’ agents to avoid such an extreme outcome because they have until the end of the month to register signings.

Barca have spent over €150 million this summer and have raised over €600m by selling 25% of their domestic television rights for 25 years and a 24.5% stake in Barca Studios.

A league source has told ESPN that it is still not enough incoming cash for Barca to be able to register all of their signings and contract renewals, although some could be registered now. This would depend on the cost and combination of the deals.

Therefore, Barca are looking to sell a further 24.5% stake in Barca Studios and continue to negotiate wage adjustments with other players, including Sergio Busquets and Gerard Pique.

It was Pique’s wage cut last summer which allowed Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia to be registered on the eve of last season, while similar actions from Busquets and Alba permitted Sergio Aguero to be signed up with the league before the transfer window closed.

Barca’s LaLiga-imposed spending cap was -€144m at the end of last season, the only negative limit in the league, and will have to be increased substantially to register all their summer activity.

The Catalan club hope that the sale of club assets, coupled with a sponsorship deal signed with Spotify earlier this year, will eventually increase their cap to allow them to register everyone.

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Frenkie de Jong’s agents arrive in Barcelona ahead of crunch talks

Frenkie de Jong's agents arrive in Barcelona ahead of crunch talks

3:12 PM GMT

  • sam marsden

  • Moses Llorens

Frenkie de Jong’s agents have arrived in Barcelona amid continued uncertainty over the midfielder’s future at the club, with Manchester United and Chelsea still pursuing his signing.

Ali Dursun and Hasan Cetinkaya, who also represent Barcelona striker Martin Braithwaite, flew into the city on Wednesday and are expected to hold talks with the Catalan club in the coming days over both of their clients.

– Why can’t Barca register summer signings yet?
– The impact of Messi’s exit a year on
– Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access

De Jong’s future has been the subject of much attention throughout the summer. ESPN revealed in July that Barca had agreed to a fee of around €85 million with United, including add-ons, while Chelsea are also interested.

However, the player has so far preferred to remain at Camp Nou.

Barca, meanwhile, have told De Jong that if he wants to stay, he must reduce his salary, although sources have told ESPN he is reluctant to do so at this stage.

Sources confirmed to ESPN earlier this week that Barca sent a letter to De Jong’s camp in July warning that the contract renewal he signed in 2020 under the previous board had alleged irregularities.

Sources close to the player said the contract is legal and claim the letter that Barca sent was intended to put pressure on De Jong to either accept a move away or agree to a wage reduction.

Barca’s board believe there were possible irregularities in other renewals signed at the same time by Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet.

However, the timing of Barca’s tactics has drawn questions as they try to raise funds and reduce their wage bill to be able to register their summer signings.

Despite that, De Jong remains happy in Barcelona with his girlfriend and scored in Sunday’s 6-0 friendly win over Mexican side Pumas UNAM at Camp Nou.

Still, the uneasy situation was highlighted when De Jong arrived at training on Wednesday and was subjected to shouted abuse by some Barcelona fans, who called on him to accept a reduced salary.

Dursun and Cetinkaya also represent Braithwaite, who has been told by Barca to find a new club. The Denmark striker was left out of the squad for the tour of the United States last month and has not featured in preseason.

Braithwaite, 31, was even jeered by Barca supporters before Sunday’s game against Pumas. Sources have told ESPN he is open to leaving the club, who has joined as an emergency signing from Leganes for €20m in 2020, but only if the offer is right for him.

Meanwhile, Barca continue to negotiate further wage adjustments with Pique and Sergio Busquets. Sources have said talks have gone well so far.

Both players, along with Jordi Alba, agreed to pay cuts last summer to enable Memphis Depay, Eric Garcia and Sergio Aguero to be registered, and they may have to do the same this year.

With Barca set to kick off the new LaLiga season on Saturday against Rayo Vallecano, none of their five signings have been registered with the Spanish league, nor have the new contracts signed by Ousmane Dembele and Sergi Roberto.

The club have so far sold assets worth over €600m and are now in a position to register some of their signings. However, a league source told ESPN more money must be raised — or wages cut — before Saturday to register everyone.

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Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski says farewell to former Bayern Munich teammates during brief visit

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski says farewell to former Bayern Munich teammates during brief visit

New Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski said farewell to his former Bayern Munich teammates and club staff during a brief visit to the Bundesliga champions’ headquarters on Tuesday, despite his rocky departure from the club.

The Poland forward, who scored 344 goals for Bayern in 375 games during his eight years in Germany, joined Barca in a deal worth €45 million last month after forcing a move away.

– Lewandowski talks to ESPN about his Bayern legacy
– Rae: Bundesliga team-by-team preview
– Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access

Lewandowski and Bayern bosses have publicly criticized each other over the transfer, with the striker saying there had been a lot of “politics” from Bayern who he said were “trying to find an argument” to sell him.

Bayern in turn said the situation had been caused by the player who asked to leave despite having a contract to 2023.

“Everything is fine,” Lewandowski told Sky television from his car before driving away from the club offices. “I met everyone and thanked them. I will never forget what I received here and what I experienced.

“That is the most important thing for me. Last week was a bit complicated but sometimes this is part of football.”

Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic spoke with Lewandowski during his brief visit and they cleared the air.

“Robert came into my office to say goodbye and we talked for 15 minutes,” he said in a club statement.

“I addressed everything and we cleared everything. Robert did great things for Bayern and that’s what should remain. He knows as well what he has to thank Bayern for.”

Lewandowski won almost every domestic and international club honor with Bayern, including eight Bundesliga titles, three German Cups, the Champions League and the Club World Cup.

He is the Bundesliga’s second highest all-time scorer behind the late Gerd Muller.

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