Barça needs 200 million euros to sign. Not counting the 80 million that will enter from the sale of Frenkie De Jong. The revolution has a price. And it is that the list of incorporations that Xavi has demanded is long. Up to nine players of immediate performance to create a competitive team. The names are on the table: two central defenders (Koundé and Christensen), two full-backs (Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso), a central midfielder (Ruben Neves), two interiors (Kessié and Bernardo Silva), one winger (Raphinha, only in the in case Dembélé ends up rejecting the last renewal offer) and a scorer (Lewandowski). It will not be easy to meet the demands of the coach. Because you have to invest money that, for now, Barça does not have.
It is true that in the next few hours Laporta will activate the lever for television rights (about 210 million euros), but most of this new income will be used to close the 2021-22 financial year without losses (about 150). There will therefore be little room for manoeuvre. We will have to prioritise. And, in this sense, Xavi is also clear about the three strategic signings: Koundé, Bernardo Silva and Lewandowski. In any case, in the club there is optimism. The board of directors sees itself capable of generating even more income (with the sale of 49 percent of BLM and even of Barça Studios) because, among its objectives, is also to reduce debt as much as possible and, of course, increase the fair play. However, the main obsession is for Barça to win titles again. And to achieve it there is no other remedy than to sign a lot and well. And that, obviously, is expensive. Very expensive…
The advantage that Barça has is that it has the complicity of all possible signings. And that they are going to wait, as long as possible, for the Blaugrana club to put its economy in order before committing to other teams. Xavi has also spoken with the players and has won them over with his football project. Now, then, everything depends on the money… and on Mateu Alemany’s ability to speed up the ‘exit operation’. Because cleaning the template is also essential for the new project to become a reality. Not so much because of the money that can be raised from sales (rather little, beyond Frenkie De Jong) but because of the need to lower the wage bill and have numbers to offer to newcomers. So many people don’t fit in the Camp Nou locker room…