With the January transfer window on the horizon, work is underway at Barcelona as they look to figure out strategies to deal with their financial issues and strengthen the roster.
A new right-back is believed to be at the top of the Catalan club’s agenda in the winter, while the arrival of a new pivot midfielder could also be studied, depending on where they stand with regard to the Financial Fair Play issues.
And, according to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona are currently looking at three possible strategies to solve the Fair Play problems and sign players in the January window.
The report indicates that although Barça believe that they should be able to operate on a 1:1 rule in the upcoming window, some officials in the Spanish Football Federation are of the opinion that the 1:4 rule should be enforced on the club.
While president Joan Laporta has insisted that there will be talks held with La Liga to resolve the matter, the club are also studying for ways to generate income so that they can achieve Fair Play and sign players in the winter.
And the first plan of action, to that end, is that Barcelona are considering the departure of players as a possible strategy.
With Gerard Pique’s retirement, the Catalans have saved a major chunk of their salary mass and the potential exit of Memphis Depay, who is no longer a major part of the plans would help the club free up more space on the wage budget.
The second plan that is being explored is the reduction of the salaries of certain players. To that end, it has already been reported that Barça are negotiating with Frenkie de Jong and Marc-Andre ter Stegen to lower their wages in order to help the club.
The third way that the Blaugrana are studying to navigate around the Fair Play problems is to arrange friendlies that should help generate additional revenue while also exploring the possibility of bringing in sponsors to boost the income.
The president, the board of directors and the sporting staff are reportedly set to meet soon to discuss the matters and chalk out the strategy for what lies next. And it will be intriguing to see how Barcelona approach the January window.