La Liga reduce Barcelona’s salary limit after €100m VIP seats sale is excluded | OneFootball

Barcelona have seen their salary limit reduced dramatically, after the €100m sale of VIP seats at the renovated Camp Nou was officially excluded from La Liga’s calculations. A statement from La Liga details that the latest accounts provided from the Blaugrana do not include the sale that was committed in part to register Dani Olmo and Pau Victor.

In January Barcelona gave further details on the lease of 475 VIP seats for 30 years at the renovated Camp Nou to the tune of €100m. Investors Forta Advisors and New Era Visionary Group have already paid €57m of that sum to the Blaugrana in the operation, although La Liga had reportedly been sceptical about the integrity of that deal.

Now La Liga have said that the deal will not be included in Barcelona’s salary limit calculations that would in theory have allowed them to maintain Olmo and Victor registered, depending on the ruling in their case with the High Sports Committee (CSD). They note that in December, the €100m sale was included in their accounts by the Institute of Accountancy and Auditor of Accounts (ICAC). However upon submitting their accounts to La Liga at the end of March for further salary limit calculations, they were no longer named as Barcelona’s auditor.

Photo by Marca

Their third of the season, this time Crowe have been named as their auditors, after Grant Thornton started as Barcelona’s auditors. Crowe have not included the €100m sale in Barcelona’s accounts, and as such, La Liga have now communicated the consequent reduction in their salary limit. They will also file a legal complaint against ICAC for their role in the operation.

Beyond impacting Barcelona’s signing capacity this summer, it could also have a more immediate impact on their season. La Liga have communicated their findings to the CSD, as they get ready to rule on Olmo and Victor’s registration this week, noting that Barcelona did not have sufficient room in their salary limit to register the pair, whether the Blaugrana submitted their documentation on time or not.

If the CSD do rule against Barcelona, Olmo and Victor would thus be ruled out for the rest of the season. Barcelona have reportedly already prepared an appeal for the case, and would seek another precautionary injunction, but this new development could jeopardise any further motions on the matter. Earlier this week, it was reported that Barcelona were at odds with Crowe over the VIP seats deal, and have thus halted their planning for next season. The pressure is now back on President Joan Laporta to handle another management crisis.