The decision makes it difficult to sign new players and extend contracts with existing ones.
Barcelona. Photo – Getty Images
Spain's La Liga does not recognise Barcelona's financial operation to sell VIP boxes at the Camp Nou stadium, which allowed the club to register midfielder Dani Olmo and striker Pau Victor , due to discrepancies with the club's financial statements.
The deal in question is an agreement with Arab investors that was concluded last December, which allowed Barcelona to earn an additional 100 million euros.
La Liga said in a statement that the Catalan club's previous auditor, who began working with them on December 31, 2024, provided information that the corresponding financial transaction for the sale of VIP boxes at the Camp Nou stadium was correctly recorded in the financial statements as club income. La Liga then increased the club's wage cap on January 3, 2025.
Barcelona's new auditor (the third in recent months) believes that this is not the club's real income. As a result, La Liga has informed the Catalan club that these €100 million are immediately deducted from their current salary cap, which puts them back into a situation of economic imbalance and makes it difficult for them to sign new players and extend contracts with current players.
La Liga will also lodge a formal complaint with the International Accounting and Auditing Institute (ICAC) against the auditor Barcelona began working with on December 31 last year, who included information about the deal in the club's profit and loss statement.
Let us recall that in January the situation with the registration of Olmo and Victor for the second part of the season was resolved positively for Blaugrana. Although La Liga and the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) refused to register Barcelona players for the second part of the season, the Supreme Sports Council subsequently sided with the club. That decision, however, was temporary – the League and the Federation were given up to three months to familiarize the CSD with their arguments before making a final verdict. La Liga then, in January, came forward with the intention of filing an appeal.
Barcelona lead La Liga, three points clear of second-placed Real Madrid. Hans-Dieter Flick's side are also in the Champions League, where they will face Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-finals.
Today, April 2, Barcelona will play the return semi-final match in Madrid against Atletico in the Spanish Cup. Let us recall that the first game between the teams ended in a productive draw with a score of 4:4.