Barcelona's Spending Ceiling Reduced!

Barcelona's salary cap has been reduced to €204m (£174.8m) by La Liga after the January transfer window ended. The salary cap represents the maximum spending a club can make throughout the season, taking into account all transactions made during the winter. He plays a pivotal role in shaping the club's plans for the upcoming transfer window. On Thursday, La Liga confirmed the salary cap for each club, with Barcelona seeing a reduction of €66m from the previous cap set in September 2023 - €270m (£231m). This figure also represents a significant drop on the amount the Catalan side were restricted to spending last February - €648m (£555m). In January, Barcelona's only activity was the signing of Vitor Roque from Atletico Paranaense. The deal - worth €30 million, plus potential add-ons - was agreed last summer. Barcelona were able to register Roque to play due to Javi's long-term absence. The 19-year-old's recent anterior cruciate ligament injury, which sidelined him for the rest of the season, has opened a window for a new signing in the winter. Article 77 of the Spanish League’s financial regulations gives clubs flexibility in the event that a registered player suffers an injury that will keep him out of action for more than four months. The affected club can register a replacement as long as his wages do not exceed 80 percent of the injured player's wages. Barcelona's true cost for the 2023-24 season - total salaries and transfer costs - is officially €492m (£421m). Because they are out of form, La Liga rules stipulate that they must make cuts before signing any more players and they have resorted to using several economic tools in recent years to stay afloat, despite significant efforts to cut costs. However, the club still has one of the highest wage bills in world football. Barcelona were forced to sell the club's TV rights and partly sell off assets to try to keep debts under control, and were again unable to score new signings before the start of this season, including the likes of Ilkay Gundogan, Oriol Romeu and Inigo Martinez. Real Madrid still have the highest cap in the league at €727m (£623m), with Atletico Madrid in second place at €303m (£259m).