That’s why Messi was rejected, Barcelona's absurd salaries for this season

Lionel Messi left Barcelona in 2021 for Paris Saint-Germain despite his desire to stay in Spain. But at the time, president Joan Laporta assured him that the club could not renew his contract because of serious financial problems caused by the club's previous chiefs. After two years in France, the Argentine forward tried to return to Barcelona this summer, but again Laporta announced that it would be difficult to sign him for the same reasons, and so Leo chose to go to Inter Miami.

After that, Los Blaugranas agreed the arrival of 5 players: defenders Inigo Martinez and Joao Cancelo, midfielders Oriol Romeu and Ilkay Gundogan and forward Joao Felix. And now, with the European transfer window closed, details have emerged about the cost of the Culé squad.

According to EFE, Barcelona's wage bill for the 2023/24 season is €404,709,155 (about $433 million). This means a reduction of €161,751,612 compared to the previous year. As a result, squad salaries now only account for 54% of the club's total revenue, compared to 73% previously. This is more in line with UEFA recommendations.

The main reason for this reduction was the departure of important players, such as Antoine Griezmann, Gerard Piqué, Francisco Trincao, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Nico González, Franck Kessie, Ousmane Dembélé, Sergiño Dest, Clément Lenglet, Ansu Fati, Eric García and Abde. In addition, many of them were sold to other clubs, generating an income of more than $80 million.

Spending little money

Another of Joan Laporta's decisions was to spend as little money as possible to sign new players during this transfer window. Iñigo Martínez and Ilkay Gundogan arrived as free agents, while Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix joined on loan from Manchester City and Atlético Madrid, respectively. The only player they paid money for was Oriol Romeu, who cost $3.6 million.