Could Barcelona activate more levers next year?
Karan Tejwani
- 3 Sept 2022 18:00 BST
- 3 min read
Barcelona had a busy summer transfer window, signing several players, and have had a positive start to their domestic season, with their new signings at the heart of their performances.
The club signed various players and were active right until the final day of the window, bringing in Hector Bellerin and Marcos Alonso to strengthen their side.
The Blaugrana’s financial issues have been well-documented – they have debts of over a billion euros – and they’ve been signing players through the activation of economic levers.
Those levers are pulled through the sale of the club’s future earnings via their shares and so far, they’ve activated four of them to fund their transfer activity and registration of players.
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More levers may have to be activated
Barcelona activated their first lever at the end of June, with US firm Sixth Street buying 10 percent of the club’s TV rights for 25 years for €267 million.
The second lever came with the sale of more TV rights for €400 million, while the third was the sale of 25 percent of Barca Studios for €100 million.
The fourth and final lever was pulled in August, with a further 25 percent of Barca Studios being sold to Orpheus Media, allowing the club to register all their summer signings in time for the start of the season.
The question now is: will Barcelona pull more levers in the near future; the answer is that it is very possible for President Joan Laporta to do so next summer.
🚨 Clubs with the biggest NET spend this summer:
-€227M 💰 Chelsea 🏴
-€226M 💰 Man Utd 🏴
-€164M 💰 West Ham 🏴
-€155M 💰 Nottm Forest 🏴
-€136M 💰 Newcastle 🏴
-€131M 💰 Tottenham 🏴
-€115M 💰 Barcelona 🇪🇸
-€108M 💰 Arsenal 🏴— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) September 2, 2022
In order to balance the books next summer, Barcelona may have to do this, even if Xavi’s team win all possible competitions in the 2022-23 season.
The club could face problems from an accounting sense, largely due to their high debts and that may force Laporta’s hand next summer, especially if they wish to make further signings for the team.
The term ‘levers’ has become quite common over the summer thanks to Barcelona’s actions, and it’s possible we haven’t heard the last of it, despite the end of the transfer window.
