Barcelona's squad cost limit has increased by nearly 150 million Euros to 582 million Euros, according to the latest announcement from La Liga. However, this figure is still 250 million Euros lower than Real Madrid's ceiling of 832 million Euros.
This significant increase helps Barcelona have more financial space to invest in the squad in the summer transfer window. The Catalan team has recruited Anthony Gordon and Rodri, with a total value of each deal possibly exceeding 70 million Euros.
Real Madrid also continues to take strong action in the transfer market. Yan Diomande joined with an initial fee of 125 million Euros, among the 6 new players brought to the first team in the summer.
Atletico Madrid ranks third in the group of teams with the highest squad cost ceiling in La Liga with 361 million Euros. Villarreal ranks next with 170 million Euros, while Real Betis has a limit of 142 million Euros.
In the opposite direction, Sevilla continues to face financial difficulties. The team that has won the Europa League 7 times has the lowest squad cost ceiling in La Liga, only 20 million Euros per season.
The squad cost limit is announced by La Liga after each transfer window, stipulating the maximum amount each club is allowed to spend on the first team, coaching staff, reserve team and youth teams in a season.
This figure is determined based on the difference between the club's revenue and non-sports expenses and debt repayment obligations.
If it exceeds the limit, as Barcelona had in previous seasons, the club will have to comply with restrictive regulations when registering and recruiting players. In that case, the team is only allowed to use a portion of the money saved from the salary fund or collected from selling players to register for new contracts.
With the new ceiling, Barcelona is currently operating within the budget limits allowed. This also explains why they still nurture the ambition to recruit Julian Alvarez from Atletico Madrid for a fee that could exceed 100 million Euros this summer.
Barcelona's return to Spotify Camp Nou in November last year along with some extended sponsorship agreements are factors that help improve the club's financial situation.
Blaugrana is expected to confirm last season's revenue exceeding the 1 billion Euro mark at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders next week. If confirmed, this will be the first time the club's revenue has exceeded this mark in history.
Not only has revenue increased, Barca also has more space in the salary fund thanks to the departure of some high-paying players. Robert Lewandowski, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ronald Araujo and Ferran Torres are among the names who left the team or were loaned out.
Thanks to that, Barcelona is in a significantly more favorable financial position than in recent seasons. However, the 250 million Euro gap with Real Madrid shows that Barcelona still has a long way to go if they want to catch up with their opponent.
