Barcelona's financial landscape is showing promising signs of recovery, with LaLiga confirming the club's annual spending cap has increased to over €463 million ($483.7m). This represents a significant improvement of nearly €40m from the season's start, marking a remarkable turnaround from last year when their limit was drastically reduced to €204m.
The boost in the club's economic situation can be attributed to a strategic move involving the sale of 475 VIP seats at the currently under-renovation Spotify Camp Nou. According to ESPN sources, these seats were sold to two Middle Eastern investors for a maximum term of 30 years, generating approximately €100m in revenue.
Despite this improvement, Barcelona's spending cap remains second in LaLiga, significantly behind Real Madrid's €755m limit. The league's top five spending caps include Atlético Madrid at €314m, Real Sociedad with €160m, and Villarreal at €135m. In contrast, Sevilla's financial difficulties have resulted in their cap being reduced from €2.5m to just €684,000, the lowest in the league.
The spending limit is calculated by subtracting non-sporting expenses and debt repayments from a team's revenue. This figure determines the maximum amount clubs can allocate to wages, bonuses, and transfer amortization payments throughout a season, though it doesn't necessarily reflect actual spending.
While Barcelona has achieved compliance with their spending limit and can now operate under the 1:1 rule - allowing them to spend 100% of saved or raised funds - they face challenges regarding player registrations. The club is currently embroiled in a dispute over the registrations of Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor. LaLiga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) contend that Barcelona missed a December 31 deadline to demonstrate compliance with their spending cap, arguing that the VIP seat deal was finalized after this date.
This situation led to both players being unregistered, with RFEF regulations preventing players from being registered twice in the same season. Barcelona has secured a temporary reprieve through an injunction from Spain's sports ministry (CSD), which is currently investigating their appeal - a process that could take up to three months. Although LaLiga has counter-appealed the CSD's decision, both Olmo and Víctor remain eligible for selection at present.
