Barcelona receive financial boost after rise in spending cap

Barcelona’s financial situation improved on Thursday after LaLiga confirmed the Catalan club’s spending limit for the season has risen to €426 million ($470.1m), up from €204m earlier this year.

Barça remain in excess of that limit but the €222m increase means they are now closer to being able to make signings more freely after having problems registering players in recent years.

Real Madrid still have the biggest cap in the league at a massive €754m, but Barça have jumped to second ahead of Atlético Madrid, whose limit is €310m.

At the other end of the scale, Sevilla have seen their cap slashed to €2.5m, while Espanyol’s is just €8.8m, meaning both clubs have to make big savings before being able to invest in their squad.

Along with Barça, LaLiga chief business officer Javier Gómez revealed they are two of the nine clubs across the top two divisions of Spanish football who are in breach of their spending limit.

The limit is roughly determined by the difference between a team’s revenue minus non-sporting outgoings and debt repayments.

The final figure accounts for the maximum amount clubs should spend on wages, bonuses and amortisation payments on transfers across a season, not how much they are necessarily spending.

Clubs who exceed their limit are subject to spending restrictions, which has been the case for Barça over the past few seasons and has hindered player registrations.

“We can’t say how much Barça remain in excess because that’s for the clubs to address if they see fit, but [Barça president Joan] Laporta said recently it’s around €60m,” Gómez said.

LaLiga president Javier Tebas added: “Barça as a club have increased revenue and decreased expenses significantly. They have done a good job.”

Gómez and Tebas both confirmed they were aware of negotiations between Barça and kit supplier Nike over a new deal which could see the Catalan club move back within their limit, allowing them to spend at what LaLiga call the 1:1 ratio, investing anything they save or raise in new players.

However, they denied reports they had already seen documents relating to an agreement or that Barça had sent them information in a bid to allow them to spend more during the summer transfer window which just closed.

Elsewhere in LaLiga, Real Sociedad (€159m) and Villarreal (€135m) complete the top five behind Madrid, Barça and Atlético, while Girona’s limit has doubled after qualifying for the Champions League for the first ever time last season.

The Catalan side’s cap now stands at €94m, ranking them eighth in the Primera Division, just behind Real Betis (€108m) Athletic Club (€100m).