Barcelona have reportedly added 475 VIP seats to the Estadi Johan Cruyff with the goal of using the new financial lever to help the club finally register its new signings.
The clock is ticking for the Catalans to get back to La Liga’s 1:1 rule before the 2025–26 season kicks off. Joan García, Marcus Rashford and Roony Bardghji risk missing the start of Barcelona’s Spanish title defense if they are not registered before Hansi Flick's men clash with Mallorca this weekend.
The Spanish giants have prioritized bringing in money this summer to hopefully avoid the financial problems that rendered Dani Olmo ineligible to play upon his arrival in Catalonia last season. The club bid farewell to Pau Víctor, Álex Valle and Pablo Torre, raking in a total of €23 million ($26.7 million).
Barcelona also announced a partnership with the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo worth a reported €10 million ($11.5 million) per season.
Still, the Catalans are not yet operating under La Liga’s 1:1 spending rules, prompting a new lever to come into play. Mundo Deportivo report nearly 500 “customized” VIP seats have been debuted at the Estadi Johan Cruyff.
The additions come after the club already sold VIP seats at the new Camp Nou, which is still under renovation after numerous setbacks over the last few months.
Barcelona now need the €100 million ($116.1 million) investment at the Estadi Johan Cruyff to be documented and approved first in an audit of the club’s finances and then by La Liga. Except there was a recent delay in Crowe Spain’s audit, leaving Barcelona waiting for an updated ruling.
The goal for the Spanish outfit remains to register its three new signings, as well as Wojciech Szczęsny, Gerard Martín, Héctor Fort and Marc Bernal, before they make the trip to the Mallorca Son Moix Stadium.
Barcelona dealt with similar registration and financial issues last season, but it did not stop Flick’s side from claiming a domestic treble. Still, the German boss will be eager to have all of his players available by Saturday, Aug. 16, instead of repeating last season’s drawn-out registration issues.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Barcelona Given Massive ‘Financial Boost’ to Help Player Registrations.