Barcelona sells more assets as it hopes to register players

Barcelona, ​​Aug. 12 (BUS): Barcelona has sold more of the club’s assets in hopes of meeting La Liga financial rules so that Robert Lewandowski and the other signings can play in the season opener.

FC Barcelona said on Friday it had agreed to sell 24.5% of Barcelona Studios’ production center to Orpheus Media in a deal that would earn it 100 million euros ($103 million), the Associated Press (AP) said in a report.

Last month, Barcelona sold an initial 25% stake in its production center to Socios.com, a blockchain provider, for another €100m plus 25% of La Liga TV rights for the next 25 years for roughly 670 1 million euros ($689) million.

Finally, the debt-laden Catalan club mortgaged its future for €870 million ($895 million) in order to sign Lewandowski from Bayern Munich along with other talented newcomers.

Regarding the sale of nearly 50% of its production center, Barcelona said in a statement: “With this investment, the strategic partners of Barça Studios demonstrate their confidence in the value of the project and the future of digital content in the world of sports.”

He also comes with Barcelona so far he has not registered his new contracts with the Spanish League. Barcelona opens the season on Saturday at home against Rayo Vallecano.

With the money he made from selling his assets, Barcelona were able to boost their squad by signing Lewandowski, winger Rafinha and defender Jules Conde for 160 million euros ($165 million).

But La Liga has strict financial requirements that limit the amount clubs can spend on players’ salaries and transfers based on the clubs’ financial health. Despite efforts to cut costs and pay off its debts, Barcelona still holds 1 billion euros ($1 billion) in debt and has seen its salary cap lowered by the league in recent seasons.

So, as of Friday morning, Lewandowski, Ravenha, Conde and free-agent Frank Kessie and Andreas Christensen, or Ousmane Dembele and Serge Roberto, who recently signed new contracts after their old contracts expired, are not registered and are therefore considered new. Contracts by league.

This new injection of another 100 million euros should help the financial balance of Barcelona that it offers to the league and increase its chances of scoring all these players.

The club is also paying to sell players like Samuel Umtiti and Martin Braithwaite who are either unwanted by coach Xavi Hernandez or have big salaries like Frenkie de Jong.

Teams have until the end of the month to register new players if they want to play in La Liga this season. Real Betis is also still waiting for many players to sign up.

Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, said recently that he is confident that his club will be able to carry out the latest acquisitions.

But it will be another blow to Barcelona’s reputation if its stars are unable to play at the Camp Nou on Saturday.

Orpheus Media is run by Catalan businessman Jaume Roures, owner of Mediapro, a major television company involved in Spanish football, but the 2020 Ligue 1 broadcasting rights agreement has collapsed. Roris was a major financial supporter of Laporta when he returned to manage the financially struggling club in 2021.

On Friday, Roris said he was not sure if the money he paid Barcelona would be enough.

“The league will not have any problems with this process,” Roris told Cadena SER radio. “If 100 million euros is enough, I don’t know. If not, the (necessary) amount should be close to that.”

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