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The new signing is at Camp Nou.
The 21-year-old forward from Manchester City has signed with Barcelona. There is a time and a place.
3:44 PM
"We're back!"
Joan Laporta was in a bullish mood, which is the mood he's in most days, but especially on days like this. It was the first day of the rest of their lives and it was sunny. 13,513 people were in the stands at the Camp Nou. The president of Barcelona was ready to take on the world when he was on the pitch below them. Or so he said.
This was a big deal. The transfer fee was 55 million, plus 10m in add-ons, and it was just the transfer of Ferran Torres. He was seen as the country's outstanding player of his age group and had come from Manchester City. Some said that Fernando Torres was destined to lead Spain's forward line for the next decade and had already scored 12 international goals. It is thought that his salary will be around 12.5m per year.
It wasn't the first big signing of Laporta, but it felt like it. It wouldn't be the last.
That's what Laporta said.
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The move from Man City to Barcelona is complete.
The transfer grades are a B+ for Barcelona.
Laporta's words shouted about it, if the arrival of Torres suggested a shift, a signing they could get excited about, a properly good player they'd persuaded to join and who you could still see there in 10 years' time. He didn't back down when he was asked about the arrival that would betransformational, the player everyone wants, the signing that would say look at us and guarantee that everyone did just that. Could Erling Haaland join? "Anything is possible," Laporta said.
He didn't say no, which was deliberate, if that sounds a little noncommittal. He said that they are still players in the market. Everyone has to get ready because we're back and we want to do good things. We have our status back. The resurgence of Barcelona is a reality.
When it becomes a reality, that might depend on how you define "resurgence."
Let's get through it quickly, because you know that Barcelona are over 1.35 billion in debt, they lost 481m last year alone, and they had to let Lionel Messi go and for free. That's an eighth the size of Real Madrid, and lower than Real Sociedad, Athletic Club, and Villarreal. Let's not even think about England, where a team with as much muscle as the one inWatford is the one to watch. The recurring question was: How? How could they sign Haaland?
How could they sign someone?
The answer is that they can't. Not really. Not yet.
After two tough years in the English top flight, 21-year-old Fernando Torres is returning to Spain and could be an anchor for Barcelona for years to come.
Laporta had said that not everything is possible at the moment. And that also includes registration of Torres. The club's director of football said it should be by Sunday. The answer is: soon, since it may not need to be that fast, but because of the injury, it may be. At least, that is what they hope. There is a plan. Hopes have a terrible habit of not being fulfilled, and the best-laid plans gang is one of the reasons.
Barcelona wouldn't be able to play him if he was fit for tomorrow's game. The question is how did Barcelona manage to sign a player?
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There are two parts to the answer. The cost of the signing is the first thing that comes to mind. Barcelona will not pay much of the fee up front, the salary is spread across his contract, and the club have taken a 600m loan from Goldman Sachs.
Where does the money come from? That's where. They believe that this is a signing that they cannot afford not to do, even if his value has doubled since he moved to England.
Signing him is the first part and it's simple. The league's salary limit criteria is the second part of the registration process.
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There are two things that need to be considered in order to review: Having the money to do it and being able to do it now. The salary limit part is more complex than you might think. If you don't comply with the rules, you won't be able to register your player. The story is over. The button you want to click will not be clickable because it's an automated system.
Barcelona's salary limit is calculated on the basis of what they spend and generate. They're miles over the limit, with the actual amount spent on salaries over 400m. People tend to think that the rules are pointless because another club ignores financial fair play. The questions are inevitable, what is the point if they can still sign players? If they can be at four times their salary limit without having any impact, what's the point?
First, these are not rules that are ignored and unenforced, nor are financial difficulties completely ignored. Not now, anyway. They lost the best player in their history, Lionel Messi, for free in the summer. Everyone can agree that it's quite a big impact. Also for free, wasAntoine Griezmann. There is a 40m purchase clause for a year. The summer before, Luis Suarez left for free and won the league. The two players took pay cuts. Memphis Depay wouldn't have been able to play the opening game of the season if it weren't for Pique's drop.
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The limits change with the season. Barcelona's limit was 382m last year, and with the impact of the Pandemic diminishing, it will likely climb again, although it is impossible that it will reach the level of their actual expenditure on salaries unless that continues to decline. If you sign a new contract, it will break the rules, and you have to comply with the salary limit, so you can't invest anything. Barcelona's total is under 97.7m.
This last part is impossible. You can't give players away to get rid of their salaries if they don't want to. It could cost more than it would save iflateral terminates. There is another way out because of the impact of the Pandemic on the limits and the negative equity that comes with it. You can invest over the limit if you have evidence that you are addressing the shortfall and how much you invest is capped at a ratio of 1:4. For every 1 a club wants to invest in their squad, they have to have made at least 4 in savings.
If you're over your limit, you can't sign a player on 1m a year if you want to get rid of him. If you can move on a player who accounts for more than 5% of your limit, you can invest at a ratio of 1 to 2, meaning a 10m player gives 5m of margin.
Joan Laporta was bullish about Barcelona's ability to spend again, but it's going to require a lot more gymnastics to make the numbers work.
Barcelona have no margin to register Torres, so they have to do it now. The long-term plans are a different issue, which is why some costs are postponed until then. It is not an easy one, but it is not impossible. While Laporta was bullish and enthusiastic, his director of football was calm, clear and concise, which increases the optimism that this could work.
Before anyone could arrive, players had to leave, according to Alemany. They had signed someone even though no one was going yet. He admitted on Monday that they didn't have a margin with the salary limit. We made an exception because it was worth it. We're working on various avenues and we accept that.
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On Wednesday, January. 5
The Leganes v Sociedad game will be played at 10:00 a.m. The time is later.
The game is scheduled for 11:55 a.m. The time is later.
The Linares v Barcelona match is scheduled for 1:45 p.m. The time is later.
The game is played at 3:20 p.m. The time is later.
The Real Madrid v Alcoyano game will be played at 3:25 pm. The time is later.
There is a Thursday in January. 6
The Sevilla v Zaragoza game is scheduled to start at 11:55 a.m. The time is later.
The game is played at 2:30 p.m. The time is later.
The Majadahonda v Atletico game will be played at 3:25 pm. The time is later.
"If we can generate fair play, we will decide if there are other signings, or if they will depend on exits," he said. The one player they actually have signed has to be the first one they register. If they succeed in doing that, they will look at other potential signings.
There are many different avenues that are time-sensitive. Some are willing to walk more willingly than others. In many cases, solutions are short-term and mean shifting costs further down the road to a time when it will be easier to fit within financial regulations. Memphis Depay, Sergino Dest and Luuk de Jong are all players that will leave within a year of arriving, which is an indication that some solutions don't solve anything. They work, their hands partly tied.
The fact that the 10m purchase option for Barcelona would have to be exercised if the player is still playing shows how delicately balanced it is.
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Craig Burley was happy with Barcelona's narrow win at Mallorca.
Barcelona's manager was asked his opinion in the midst of negotiations over a new contract for Ousmane Dembele. He wanted to keep the Frenchman at the club. He has said before that Dembele could be the world's best in his position, but what was new was how important and why. He said that if Ousmane renews, it will allow them to make one or two signings.
Stop and read it again. There will be savings if Dembele stays, but not if he leaves. In the short term. Barcelona's plan is to have him spread what he is earning over the next few years and reduce his salary in order to get some of it into the back end of his contract. It means that they depend on him. It appears he has the upper hand.
It is starting to look like he might not agree to a renewal. The demands are greater than the offer, and patience is running out. It is time. "We've been talking to his agent for five months," said Alemany. We have been patient. They knew we wanted him to stay and he had our offer. We can't wait much longer. We are waiting for a definitive answer so that we can make decisions that are convenient for the club.
There have been suggestions that he would be sent to the stands to put pressure on him to stay, but for Dembele, there's little to be gained by going now.
Sergi Roberto renewing in order to defer some of his salary is one of the options illustrating how immediate Barcelona's issues are. It depends on the players who leave, but the fact that that's not easy has been demonstrated before. People say to just sell an expensive player. Go on and try it. Samuel Umtiti isn't going to hurry to leave. They've been trying to sell him for two years. He may be willing to leave as the World Cup approaches, as another manager sees little place for him.
"We're working on it, and we're confident we'll be able to register before Sunday," he said. There is a plan and a player. Something has to happen and soon, or the one signing they actually made, the man who announced his return won't be able to set foot on the pitch.
"I know I'll be able to register, I'm calm," he said.
