La Liga president Javier Tebas has announced Barcelona will not be allowed to buy anyone in the upcoming transfer window - stating that if he let them spend the whole league would 'collapse'.
Summer 2021 was an incredibly difficult time for the Nou Camp side; financial ruin after over a decade of success saw stars being asked to take paycuts, as many as FIVE financial levers being 'activated' so that they could spend more, and of course, Lionel Messi having to leave the amphitheatre he called his home for 19 years with Barca unable to pay his wages.
New signings at the time such as Memphis Depay, Sergio Aguero and Eric Garcia were all unable to be registered to their squad with La Liga's wage cap simply not budging to make room for their new stars. But with the club activating financial levers which essentially ate into their revenue to allow them to survive, the club have seen an upturn in form since. Club legend and now-manager Xavi Hernandez has taken them back to the top of the league ahead of Real Madrid, which they could win for the first time in four years under his guidance. But they have been dealt a blow by announcing they will have to undergo a transfer embargo this window - with Tebas ready to stand tough.
Speaking at a press conference in London on Thursday, Tebas said: "Barcelona is very important for the league, but if we look the other way, it would be a serious mistake. Our competition would collapse. Maybe now their president will call me angry, but it's the truth. A lot will have to change because, if not, the institution will be in trouble. We did not let Barcelona sign players this winter, and next summer they will not be able to sign players. With the famous 'levers', the club has made levers last summer for 5 per cent of its turnover. But at other clubs, that could be a problem. We have acted and self-regulated quickly. No one can make levers that represent 5 per cent of the turnover."
Tebas was then asked about the proposition of a European Super League, with the initial ideas for such a radical change in football being made public just under two years ago. At the time, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid were one of the 12 teams that initially went forward with the idea along with six from England and three from Italy; though after the plans were shunned by fans and pundits alike, the breakaway fell to pieces.
Real and Barcelona have yet to signal their intentions to halt the eventual addition of a European Super League - with Tebas vehemently denying the morals of such a competition with a 'rich getting richer, poor getting poorer' argument.
He continued: "It's a message that tells you: Real Madrid generates a lot of money, they want to play against the best, have the best games and the rest of us will give them the crumbs. That's not a good message. It's like a country being run by a bank.
"We need to look at why this Super League came about, whether we need to improve the governance of the sport, for example. The system we have sometimes benefits more the big teams and we have to find a better balance."
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