Barcelona clear pending payments for five previous signings | OneFootball

Barcelona’s financial situation has been a matter of concern for a long time now, and it is only this summer that they have finally gained some leeway to splurge on signings.

Beyond returning to the 1:1 rule that governs player sales, signings and wages, a second measure of financial health is the amount owed by the club to other teams for previous transfers.

As reported by SPORT in a recent update, Barcelona have taken a huge step forward in that sense this summer as they have completely repaid the outstanding amounts for five previous transfers.

Progress in a nutshell

As of June 30th of this year, Barcelona had a total of €167.4 million in pending payouts divided as €115.8 million in short-term payments and €51.6 million in the long term.

Laporta and Co. have done a phenomenal job. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)

Since then, they have repaid the full debts pending for five transfers – Dani Olmo, Robert Lewandowski, Vitor Roque, Jules Kounde and Raphinha.

€34.4 million was owed by the club for Olmo, €19 million for Raphinha, €12.3 million for Kounde, €11.1 for Lewandowski and €7.3 million for Roque, totalling to a sum of just over €84 million that the club have not cleared.

Notably, however, there has also been an addition to that sum through the signing of Anthony Gordon for whom Barcelona still owe Newcastle United €68.9.

Of that, €21.9 million was owed in the short term and €46.9 million in the long-term, and the club have renegotiated for the short-term payment to also be temporarily deferred for financial ease.

How much do Barcelona now owe?

Taking the €84 million out of Barcelona’s debt, €83.3 million would remain as pending debts in theory. However, the reality is far different.

Signings like Rodri have not been included in the calculations. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

The aforementioned calculations only take into account signings made before June 30th, and all signings made after that date are yet to be accounted for.

Further, one cannot just add the transfer fees of all players signed after that date to reach the figure of outstanding payments, for deals are often structured with upfront payments, varied instalments, bonuses, and other splits.

Without knowledge of how much was paid for each signing, it is impossible to know the exact situation of the club currently.

In any case, taking five operations past the finish line is great progress for Barcelona and they will hope to keep taking steps towards financial stability in the same manner.