La Liga president Javier Tebas has issued a warning to Barcelona that they must still reduce their wage bill further, and activating economic levers will “not work” next year.
The Catalan giants have been in financial trouble off the pitch for a few years, amassing debts of up to €1bn (£870.1m) at a point.
Barcelona manager Xavi therefore welcomed a large number of free agents in the summer, but the money was spent on Raphinha, Jules Kounde, and Robert Lewandowski.
However, because to their difficult financial situation, Barcelona were unable to register all of their new acquisitions in time, with Kounde missing their La Liga opening against Rayo Vallecano.
To fund their big-money acquisitions, Joan Laporta sold 25% of Barcelona’s television rights for the next 25 years to American firm Sixth Street, as well as 49% of Barca Studios.
However, Tebas has warned Barcelona that they must find a means to reduce their payroll cost from €656m (£570.8m) to €500m (£435.1m) for the 2023-24 season.
“If they go out of the Champions League, they will have less income but they will not have to pay bonuses. That will not change much,” Tebas told Mundo Deportivo.
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“The levers have worked for them this season but not for the next one. They have to reduce salary mass, they cannot continue with more than 500 million euros. Because if not, next season we will find the 1/4 rule for them again.”
Jordi Alba, Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, and Sergi Roberto are among the big-name players who might depart Barcelona in 2023 as the club tries to balance the books.
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