Barcelona 'ordered to lower wage bill by £177m'

Barcelona are reportedly told that they must reduce their wage bill by £177m during the summer transfer window.

The Catalan giants are currently enjoying a much-improved campaign in La Liga, holding an eight-point lead over champions Real Madrid at the top of the standings.

However, while Xavi's side are excelling on the pitch, there remains uncertainty behind the scenes at Camp Nou due to their well-documented financial situation.

In order to fulfil certain criteria in 2022, the club's hierarchy secured economical levers and sold percentages of future television revenue.

That approach was taken to enable Barcelona to make a number of high-profile signings, giving them the best possible chance of continuing to compete with Real Madrid.

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Although that short-term objective has been achieved, Barcelona missed out on budgeted prize money from the Champions League due to their early exit, instead leaving them with Europa League football for the second half of the campaign.

Barcelona must also find solutions for other financial issues further down the line, and La Liga has seemingly informed the current frontrunners of their obligations ahead of 2023-24.

According to reports in Spain, Barcelona must ensure that they lower their wage bill by €200m (£177.2m) when the market reopens in the summer.

That would effectively leave Barcelona to try to raise funds through player sales and potentially renegotiate contracts like they have done in the past.

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Barcelona currently hold an interest in extending the stays of club legends Sergi Roberto and Sergio Busquets past the end of the season, but their departures would help boost their efforts to meet the relevant criteria.

The report suggests a number of other players could come into consideration for an exit, including Jordi Alba whose contract is due to expire in 2024.

Franck Kessie, Frenkie de Jong, Ferran Torres, Ansu Fati and Ousmane Dembele are also mentioned as potential options for a sale.

When quizzed on the future of Fati on Thursday, president Joan Laporta said, as quoted by journalist Fabrizio Romano: "We are not thinking of selling Ansu Fati as of now, he's loved here — then I cannot predict the future. His agent told us there are clubs keen on signing Ansu Fati, yes."

Although a recent report suggested that Manchester United were admirers of the Spain international, Barcelona are allegedly ready to demand £90m for his signature.