Barça spent less on transfers than any other Champions League club this summer
The Catalan side only spent €3.4 million on signings this summer, all on Oriol Romeu
Barcelona are readjusting to their economic reality by investing just enough in transfers to get by. So much so, that the Catalan side are the club that have spent the least money on signings this summer of all the teams participating in the Champions League 2023/24 group stage.
The Azulgrana have invested just €3.4 million in reinforcements and are looking to break a jinx of being eliminated two seasons in a row in the group stage.
Many will say that they 'spent their money' on signing two free international players or on getting two players on loan who are as flashy as they have troubled at times during their careers.
The fact is that the Culés have worked miracles by presenting a squad of maximum guarantees before their European debut against Antwerp on Tuesday.
In fact, the Belgian side spent three times as much as FC Barcelona in the transfer window, shelling out €10.5m in reinforcements.
Barça have spent even less than Swiss minnows Young Boys, who spent €3.9 million on acquisitions. Copenhagen complete the podium of the 'cheapskates' with €8m spent on reinforcements.
Big spenders
Needless to say, Barça are light years behind Paris Saint-Germain, who were the biggest spenders of all the clubs in the Champions League with an outlay of €349.5m, some 100 times more than Barcelona. The Parisians, it must be said, also executed the most expensive sale of the summer, making €90 million from Neymar's transfer to Saudi Arabia.
The Parc des Princes side are followed by three English clubs who have also had a busy summer. Reigning Champions League winners Manchester City spent €241.1m on reinforcements to retain their crown, followed by Arsenal who spent €234.94m and Manchester United who spent €206.7m (all figures from Transfermarket).
The Blaugrana would have liked to be in the next group of spending above €150m and where Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Newcastle and RB Leipzig are placed. However, the club from Barcelona has a delicate financial situation that made it impossible to do so
- PSG: €349.5 million
- Manchester City: €241.1 million
- Arsenal: €234.94 million
Also above €100m spent we find Napoli and AC Milan, while above €50m are others such as PSV, Lens, Inter, Benfica and Borussia Dortmund. In terms of budget, anyone would say that Barça are not in a position to make too many demands, but it is also true that they have spent too much in recent years.
