Javier Tebas, the chief of La Liga, has unleashed a bombshell on Barcelona’s summer transfer plans by announcing that the Catalan giants are banned from signing new players. Speaking at the FT Business of Football summit in London, Tebas revealed that Barca has been involved in “questionable behavior” that has harmed La Liga, leading to this stringent action.
Despite spending over €150 million on transfers last summer, including marquee signings like Robert Lewandowski and Jules Kounde, Barcelona is currently in a budgetary bind, according to Tebas. The club has failed to trim its squad significantly, with high earners like Philippe Coutinho and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang still on the payroll. Consequently, the La Liga boss has declared that Barca will not be allowed to bring in any new players until it offloads some of its existing ones.
The situation looks bleak for the Blaugrana, as even if they manage to sell players, their spending limit is capped at just £71m, a mere two-fifths of their previous transfer kitty. The summer transfer window is still months away, but Barcelona’s hopes of making a splash in the market seem to have been dashed for now.