Barça president Joan Laporta has admitted that financial fair play rules would currently prevent the club from bringing any newcomers on board in the winter transfer window.
FC Barcelona pulled a number of controversial ‘levers’ and sold club assets over the summer to raise significant cash and finance a violent wave of transfers – but the salary cap and other restrictions still pose a major problem for the Catalans.
Speaking to EFE, Laporta admitted he’s trying to find a way to play by the rules. At the same time, he acknowledged that the situation is difficult.
“We had to pull a few levers, namely economic measures, which saved the club from ruin and now the club is on the upswing,” he began. “He is healthy now, with projected earnings of €1,225 million and a projected profit of €274 million.”
“However, according to the Financial Fair Play rules of the Spanish league, we cannot sign anyone in January.”
“We and some other Spanish clubs are trying to convince the league to be more flexible and allow us other types of interpretations that can help Barcelona continue to strengthen.”
Laporta also criticized the “inequalities” of financial rules in La Liga compared to the other European leagues and stressed that they should all be “harmonised”.
“You have more flexibility in the Premier League than in Spain and that doesn’t make much sense to me,” he argued.
This article was originally published on 90min.com as Joan Laporta reveals: How the FFP will affect Barça’s winter transfer plans.
