Barcelona are working overtime trying to come up with alternatives to register their remaining new signings, with president Joan Laporta and the rest of the board of directors reaching for extreme measures.
According to various reports, in recent hours, Barcelona higher-ups unanimously approved a €7 million ($8.1million) guarantee to La Liga in order to fully comply with the 1:1 rule, which would allow them to register their new signings. As of right now, this measure is seen as a Plan B, but Barça are ready to trigger this option so that Hansi Flick can begin the season with a full squad at his disposal.
The Catalans received good news as they announced that La Liga ruled club captain Marc-André ter-Stegen’s back injury meets long-term criteria. This ruling allows the club to register Joan García in time for him to play against Mallorca on Aug. 16.
Yet, more work has to be done to register four others. Marcus Rashford, Roony Bardghji, Wojciech Szczęsny and Gerard Martín are not registered and wouldn’t be available to play in Barcelona’s season opener on Saturday.
In essence, the guarantee would count as monetary income for Barcelona, which would help them meet La Liga’s financial rules.
It wouldn’t be the first time Barcelona utilize this strategy to register players. Back in 2022, Laporta and club treasurer Ferran Olivé made a personal guarantee to La Liga worth €11 million to register Jules Koundé. That guarantee was then deactivated when Gerard Piqué left the club less than halfway through the 2022–23 season.
Barcelona are still awaiting the green light from both auditors and La Liga regarding the sell of VIP seats at the renovated Camp Nou. If the sale is validated, then €100 million ($117 million) would enter Barça’s accounts and the club would be back within the 1:1 rule, ending the need for the Plan B.
The waiting game is on, but Barcelona look determined to explore every possible avenue to ensure their current precarious financial situation doesn’t affect Flick’s side come the start of the season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Barcelona ‘Hatch Plan B’ to Register Remaining New Signings.
