Barcelona have registered new signings with La Liga, allowing some of their top transfers to play against Rayo Vallecano in the league opener on Saturday. Barcelona were racing against the clock to get the new players registered in time for the game at Camp Nou this weekend.
The Catalan club’s serious financial position made it tough to make it official for the new signings to be able to play in Spain’s top division, but they have confirmed them as part of the team.
Who Has Barcelona Registered And Who Has Been Left Out?
The new signings who have been registered are Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessie, Raphinha, and Robert Lewandowski.
Those four players have all been included to the squad for the forthcoming match.
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— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) August 13, 2022
Sergi Roberto and Ousmane Dembele, whose contracts at Barcelona ended before they recently committed to new agreements, have also been registered.
Jules Kounde, who arrived from Sevilla in a deal of an initial €50 million (£42 m/$50 m), is the only new face at Camp Nou who has not to be registered by the club, but this should happen next week.
During a press conference ahead of the season opener, head coach Xavi was asked about the registration delay.
“We are working, we are very positive at the club, a lot,” he said. “I think we will get out of it. Today we are optimistic, but we will see.”
Related: Barcelona Sell Studio Rights In A Bid To Register New Signings
Why Did Barcelona Take So Long To Register The Players?
Barcelona’s financial situation was so bad that it was difficult for them to register the players in time for the start of the new season.
Despite their considerable debt, the club has spent heavily this season, but their use of ‘economic levers’ to obtain funds over the summer has given them the opportunity to bring in new players.
The club sold 10% of their La Liga television rights to investment firm Sixth Street Partners, followed by another 15%, for a total of €582 million (£495 million/$591 million).
The club have also confirmed the sale of 25% of Barca Studios to socios.com for €100m (£84 m/$102m), but they will need to activate a fourth lever to register all of their new recruits.
Barca may generate an additional €100m by selling the remaining 24.5% of Barca Studios.
They announced a further €100m (£85 m/$103m) on Friday by selling 24.5% of Barca Studios to Orpheus Media.
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