Barcelona ready to active €250m super lever to kickstart summer transfers

Stuart Telford

• 11 Mar 2023 13:07 GMT
• 3 min read

Barcelona have been told by La Liga to reduce their debt by €200 million next summer. Joan Laporta could be about to activate yet another 'financial lever'.

Barca have a squad of players, and therefore saleable assets, who could help alleviate their financial woes if they were transferred out.

Take Frenkie de Jong - wanted by Manchester United, valued at €52.2 million by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm, and the club's top earner on €37.5m per year before tax.

READ: Frenkie de Jong reveals why he rejected Man Utd

But Barca are loath to sell any of their first-team players, as they look to get back to the business end of the Champions League if not outright winning it for a sixth time in their history.

Laporta coined the term 'financial levers' last year when he sold a percentage of future revenues for things like TV rights to big banks, and there could be more where those came from.

"According to AS, the Catalans can tick this box off [the need to raise €200m] by selling 49 per cent of Barca Licensing & Merchandising (BLM)," report Forbes.

"A potential sale of this ilk was reported on last summer, when a consortium headed by Fanatics and Investindustrial was said to be on the verge of buying the stake for €200 million."

That might balance the books in the short-term but it wouldn't be enough for Barca to complete all of their desired summer shopping.

READ: Who are some affordable transfer targets for Barcelona this summer?

Who do Barca want to buy?

Barca have two problem positions: at right-back and defensive midfield.

Dani Alves casts a long shadow in the former position with Jules Kounde, a centre-back by trade signed from Sevilla for €50m last summer, covering in the role this term.

Joao Cancelo, who is struggling on loan at Bayern Munich having been frozen out at Manchester City, is a target, if even only on a temporary basis.

Sergio Busquets, who anchors the midfield, is the second-highest earner after De Jong. He has been offered fresh terms but Inter Miami and Al-Nassr are likely to be able to pay more going forward.

Ruben Neves and Sofyan Amrabat are among those who have been tagged as a potential replacement, although Ilkay Gundogan, available on a free from Man City, is a more likely target.

Finally, Barca are known to admire Athletico Paranaense's Brazilian prodigy Vitor Roque, but targets like him and Bernardo Silva might require yet another lever.