Barcelona is currently facing another financial fair play storm, this time from UEFA. It could potentially sanction Champions League football. Will this financial fair play headache ever go away?
Currently, Laporta is scrambling to comply, but is Barcelona unfairly targeted again? Laporta’s risky financial gambles might cost the Catalans on the pitch. Here’s what’s at stake.
Why Barca Always Pays While Oil Clubs Get a Free Pass
After all the Dani Olmo fiasco, here we go again. I mean, it’s impossible to ignore the hypocrisy at this point. Clubs like City and PSG, whose spending literally dwarfs Barcelona’s, operate so much more freely, while Barcelona gets slapped with fines and restrictions. City’s alleged 115 FFP breaches are still ‘under investigation’. Fishy, right? The same applies to PSG’s Qatari-backed deals.
Yet, when Barca sells some of its assets to stay alive, UEFA suddenly becomes the morality police. I think the message is clear from UEFA: traditional clubs are subject to stricter rules than state-owned clubs. If FFP were truly about fair play, this would not feel so much selective.
Was Selling Barca’s Future Worth It for Laporta?
Laporta’s economic levers were reckoned as masterstrokes back in 2022. But now they are suddenly biting back. The selling of Barca Studios and future TV rights might have kept the lights on, but UEFA has refused to count them as sustainable income. This leaves the Blaugrana quite exposed financially.
The short-term cash injection to keep Olmo and Victor looked like a master move, but now it seems the after-effects will be brutal. UEFA will only become stricter with their scrutiny in the future, and these desperate moves might haunt Barcelona for years.
Worst-Case Scenario: UCL Squad Limits Could Cripple Flick’s Rebuild
Although the penalties have not been decided yet, some reports regarding the potential sanctions are concerning. Barca could face a restriction on registering several players for the UCL in the 2025/26 season. The Catalans could even face a point deduction in the group stages. After so much rebuilding by Flick, UEFA’s sanctions could undo all the progress overnight.
The club’s summer plans, like the signing of Joan Garcia or Luis Diaz, could also collapse. These are serious issues, especially the squad restrictions. They could sabotage the very thing culers care about, i.e. results.
The Consistent Mistakes: Barca’s Repeat Offender Status Proves Costly
Barca’s status in this scenario is not entirely innocent. UEFA’s October 2023 ruling was a wake-up call that next time, the consequences might be worse. And yet, here we are again. The club gambled and counted its asset sales as income. This backfired, and now the punishment might be even harsher.
It might be bad luck, but it’s surely mismanagement. I hate to admit that even I appreciated Laporta’s asset sale move as a brilliant strategy back in December. But we all underestimated UEFA’s resolve for accountability. Either way, Barca has not been able to adapt to the regulations. When the following sanctions drop, the board might have no one to blame but themselves.