Barcelona face fresh Fair Play concerns which could hamper summer transfer plans | OneFootball

According to SPORT, Barcelona are facing a new internal controversy regarding the audit of their financial accounts – a crucial factor in complying with La Liga’s Financial Fair Play regulations and ensuring the club has flexibility in the summer transfer window.

The issue revolves around the sale of VIP seats at the Spotify Camp Nou for €100 million. A temporary auditing firm approved this transaction in January when the deal was finalised, enabling Barcelona to gain La Liga’s approval to revert to the 1:1 salary rule.

New auditor raises questions

However, Barcelona’s new auditor, Crowe Spain, disagrees with the criteria used by the previous temporary auditor that validated the transaction.

Crowe Spain believes the €100 million should not be fully accounted for in this season’s finances because the asset – the new VIP seats – does not yet exist.

Instead, they put forward two options: to record only the €58 million already paid on 3 January, or even to divide the total income from the agreement over the 20 years of the contract by the transfer of the seats, i.e. €5 million per season.

More Fair Play concerns for Barcelona. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)

This discrepancy is key because, if La Liga finally accepts Crowe’s criteria, Barça would lose, in the best-case scenario, €42 million in their salary cap for next summer.

Barcelona, for their part, defend their position, insisting that the initial criteria must be maintained so as not to compromise their ability to sign in the summer.

La Liga remains on standby as Barça seek to close the matter before the 31 March deadline for submitting audited accounts.

With just one week remaining, the outcome of the audit regarding the €100 million VIP seat sale at the new Spotify Camp Nou will significantly impact Barcelona’s ability to strengthen their squad in the summer.

As the 31st of March approaches, the resolution of this latest financial dispute will be crucial for Barcelona’s transfer strategy and overall financial stability.