Barcelona’s financial crisis to have MAJOR impact on January transfer window signings

Barcelona’s ongoing financial issues will have a major impact on the club’s ability to buy players in the January transfer window. Earlier this year, the Barcelona board had asked their players to take a wage cut in order to help with their finances. The financial condition at Barcelona was unstable in the summer, which meant they were unable to sign their targets in the transfer window.

Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum and Olympique Lyonnais attacker Memphis Depay were both seen as targets for new manager Ronald Koeman but the club was unable to land either of them. The club, however, managed to bring in midfielder Miralem Pjanic, full-back Sergino Dest and winger Francisco Trincao.

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Barcelona finances to hamper possibilities of signings

Given the situation of Barcelona's finances, the club had to offload a number of regulars, including first-team players Ivan Rakitic and Luis Suarez, who went on to join Sevilla and Atletico Madrid respectively. The club also parted ways with senior midfielder Arturo Vidal, who left for Inter Milan, while youngsters Arthur Melo and Nelson Semedo joined Juventus and Wolverhampton Wanderers respectively on big-money deals.

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic has severely damaged the club’s accounts, with revenue streams reduced and a standstill in preliminary talks with players over a salary reduction for 2021. Earlier the players had agreed to take pay cuts for the second half of the 2020-21 LaLiga season. However, reports suggest those negotiations have hit a deadlock as the players have not agreed to take a second pay cut. 

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With fans still unable to visit the Camp Nou and with no potential return date in sight due to the rising cases of coronavirus, the Barcelona board may need to sell before they can buy in January as Barcelona's finances have been hit hard in the last ten months. Ronald Koeman will likely have to revisit his 2021 transfer targets, with a limited budget available to the Dutchman's disposal.

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Barcelona transfer news - Who could come in during the January window? 

Manchester City centre-back Eric Garcia had confirmed he wants to leave the Etihad when his contract expires next summer with Barcelona said to be interested. However, Pep Guardiola had expressed his wish to keep the player until the end of the season.

Barcelona could test his resolve with a €15m offer when the window reopens. If Manchester City are willing to sell Garcia ahead of schedule, Koeman may need to offload someone to finance a deal. Injury-prone defender Samuel Umtiti's fitness issues have resurfaced again and he is yet to feature for Koeman so far which means he is likely to be sold if the Eric Garcia deal is on cards. 

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Image credits: Ronald Koeman Twitter