Barcelona president Joan Laporta has defended his management of the club's finances, insisting they followed LaLiga rules to ensure they could register Dani Olmo and Pau Victor.
Barca have been beset by financial problems in recent years, with strict LaLiga salary cap rules limiting the Blaugrana to an annual spend of €426 million on wages for 2024-2025, compared to the €755 million cap offered to rivals Real Madrid.
Having failed to get their finances under control by December 31, Barca were blocked by LaLiga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) from registering Olmo and Victor.
Both players had been granted temporary registration after arriving in pre-season but were faced with the prospect of missing the remainder of 2024-2025.
After two courts rejected Barcelona's requests to register the pair, the club turned to the Spanish government, which intervened when the National Sports Council (CSD) reversed the decision and allowed them to be provisionally registered.
Laporta said on Tuesday that he had struck a deal to sell Camp Nou's VIP boxes to Middle Eastern investors, and that he had also signed a new seven-year kit deal with Nike to balance their finances and comply with LaLiga rules.
“We submitted the documentation on December 27. We sent it within the deadline, but between December 27 and 31, LaLiga asked us to complete the documentation,” he said.
“We thought we would break even on December 31 and LaLiga asked us for additional requirements that were not included.
“There was no improvisation whatsoever. We drew up a very detailed strategic plan from the start and it was reviewed over the weeks.
“Barça's strength has been shown,” says @JoanLaportaFCB
ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴜʟʟ ꜱᴛᴏʀʏ ʙᴇʟᴏᴡ
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 14, 2025
“The deal was achieved thanks to the work and talent of all executives. They do extraordinary work.
“The contract with Nike triples what we asked for and would have been done regardless of FFP requirements.”
Laporta declined to provide details of the VIP seat contract, citing confidentiality clauses.
LaLiga said last week it disagreed with the CSD's decision and would appeal the ruling. Several clubs have also criticized the government intervention, saying it sets a dangerous precedent.
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