Barcelona admit to ‘calculated risks’ as fourth lever considered
Robin Bairner
- 4 Aug 2022 06:45 CDT
- 3 min read
Barcelona president Joan Laporta says that he is taking “calculated risks” with regards the future of the club amid reports that the Camp Nou outfit may trigger a fourth economic lever.
The Catalan side have been busy in the transfer market and have spent more money than any other club in the world, having signed Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Jules Kounde in blockbuster deals while also adding Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen on free transfers.
This overhaul has taken place amidst an economic crisis for the club that has been tempered by the activation of ‘economic levers’. These have entailed selling off long-term assets for large sums of money, much of which has been pumped back into the squad instead of paying off long-standing debt, which stood at well over €1.3 billion when the club’s last accounts were drawn up.
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Laporta admits that the strategy he has chosen for the club is not one without danger.
“I’m not a gambler,” Laporta told the New York Times. “I take calculated risks.
“The Barca fans around the world, around 400 million fans worldwide, they require a level of success.”
Barcelona may be forced into a fourth lever
However, a report in Spain has suggested that Barca’s new-found income may not be enough to see their players registered by La Liga, which has strict Financial Fair Play protocols. This could be the case for the club even if they trigger a third financial lever, which would entail the selling off of close to half of the club’s merchandising arm and would be worth around another €100m.
With this being the case, it is reported by Catalunya Radio that they could stretch to a fourth lever as they continue to pursue deals for Chelsea pair Marcos Alonso and Andreas Christensen.
This fourth lever would mean that the club would sell off 25% of Barca Studios, which is expected to return them €100m and would allow Barcelona to register all of their summer signings.
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