Barcelona are selling more assets as they hope to register players


Barcelona, ​​Spain –

Barcelona have sold even more of their club assets in hopes of complying with Spanish league financial rules so Robert Lewandowski and his other signings can play in the season opener.

Barcelona said on Friday that they had agreed to sell 24.5% of their Barca Studios production hub to Orpheus Media in a deal that would net them 100 million euros ($103 million).

Last month, Barcelona sold an initial 25% stake in its production center to Socios.com, a blockchain provider, for a further €100 million, as well as 25% of its television rights to the Spanish league for the next 25 years for almost €670 million (US$689 -Dollar). Million).

All in all, the heavily indebted Catalan club have pledged their future for €870m ($895m) to sign Lewandowski from Bayern Munich along with other talented newcomers.

Regarding the sale of almost 50% of its production center, Barcelona said in a statement that “with this investment, the strategic partners in Barca Studios show confidence in the value of the project and the future of digital content in the world of sport”.

Furthermore, Barcelona have yet to register their signings with the Spanish league. Barcelona open the season at home against Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.

Thanks to the money they made selling their assets, Barcelona have been able to strengthen their squad by signing Lewandowski, winger Raphinha and defender Jules Kounde for a total of 160 million euros ($165 million).

However, the Spanish league has strict financial requirements that limit the amount clubs can spend on player salaries and transfers based on the financial health of the clubs. Despite efforts to cut costs and pay off their debts, Barcelona still have €1bn ($1bn) in debt and their salary cap has been cut by La Liga in recent seasons.

Unregistered as of Friday morning were Lewandowski, Raphinha, Kounde, free-agent additions Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen, as well as Ousmane Dembele and Sergi Roberto, both of whom recently signed new deals after their old contracts expired and are therefore considered new signings of the league .

This new injection of another €100m should help Barcelona’s financial balance that it presents to the league and increase its chances of being able to register all these players.

The club are also pushing to sell players like Samuel Umtiti and Martin Braithwaite who are either unwanted by manager Xavi Hernandez or, like Frenkie de Jong, have high salaries.

Teams have until the end of the month to register new players if they want to play in the Spanish league this season. Real Betis is also still waiting to register several players.

Barcelona club president Joan Laporta recently said he is confident his club will be able to line up their latest acquisitions.

But it would be another blow to Barcelona’s reputation if his star signings are unable to play at the Camp Nou on Saturday.