The cash calculator predicts another difficult summer for FC Barcelona

FC Barcelona, finally, won't sign LaLiga's CVC deal and join the LaLiga Impulso project. At least not for now, following last Tuesday's board meeting. The objective instead? The sale of 49.9% of BLM, which runs the club's shops (a key operation to reverse the losses from 2019 to 2021) and the transfer of up to 25% of future television rights from LaLiga, which would support that first objective, but, at the same time, give some oxygen to the sporting department for this summer. Without that additional margin that accepting the proposal from LaLiga and CVC gave, what can we expect from the summer?

Joan Laporta's board said no to the CVC proposal last year because, while the €270m cash boost is necessary, it seemed excessive that it would go down as debt and television rights would be mortgaged off for so long. And in the case of Barça, they may be right because they do have access to long-term financing that other small and medium-sized teams do not. And that has not changed, but being able to allocate €40.5m to transfers this summer without having to release salary mass beforehand was (and is) an important candy in terms of the CVC deal.

Said in other words. Accepting to be part of LaLiga Impulso would give the sporting department the chance to close certain signings now, without having to wait for exits first. And, on that point, it can't be forgotten that Barça need to generate €688m in profit to compensate for the losses suffered during the pandemic. Even selling BLM and a greater percentage of television rights will still require selling players this year so that the summer of 2023 can be more normal.

But this summer, what? With the current rules, Mateu Alemany needs to generate between €120m and €160m in savings on wages and profit on transfers to obtain the equivalent margin that would come with LaLiga Impulso. Will he do it? We will see because Dembele does not count as a saving as his contract expires, Griezmann will only add additional funds if his sale is finalised and Coutinho left for just €20m. From there, there is talk of drastic salary cuts that have not happened in the last three years, rescinding contracts and forcing transfers.

And it does not seem bad to me if, as in the summer of 2021, priority is given to channeling the economic situation before the sports situation. The market will be long, so patience is required, which is what will have to be asked from those who could arrive for free.