Barcelona set a budget at the beginning of the season that they would have to sell players for a total of 124 million euros.
This is a sizeable figure, but it’s in line with what had been set the previous campaign.
Last year, Barcelona were just about able to meet their desired target, but despite their troubles, they didn’t make as much money as they likely would have liked in the summer.
The only departres were Malcom and Sergi Palencia, who brought in a combined 10 million euros, as well as the loan of Philippe Coutinho, which cost Bayern Munich 8.5 million euros with an option to buy for 120 million euros.
At the time there was optimism that Bayern would take up this option, but the reality is that will not be the case. And this would have been important for Barcelona because it would have accounted for 40 million euros.
Whereas the summer was relatively weak in terms of sales, the January transfer window was a bit more productive.
Players were sold, or mandatory purchase options were included, for approximately 30 million euros, as Abel Ruiz, Carles Perez, Alejandro Marques and the departure of Jean-Clair Todibo on loan.
On top of this is the money Marc Cucurella will bring in, with Getafe having already informed Barcelona that they will pay six million euros for him.
In total, that all adds up to 54 million euros. There are 70 million euros remaining and making up this amount is going to be a challenge.
The deal that could have seen Coutinho join Bayern has, as noted, been ruled out, and now no one wants to pay 120 million euros for the Brazilian.
At most, Barcelona expect that they could recoup 80 million euros from the former Liverpool playmaker, but that’s the amount the Catalan club still have to pay for him and, as such, they wouldn’t make anything from the sale.
Everything indicates that Coutinho will therefore stay at the Camp Nou, a situation that is made more complicated due to his hefty salary, or he will have to go out on another loan.
Barcelona hope to make money from Todibo, with Schalke having the option to buy for 25 million euros, however the German side are hesitant about paying this fee.
Regardless, those at the Blaugrana expect to make around 20 million euros from his departure, which will all be profit after signing him for free from Toulouse.
Moussa Wague, meanwhile, has a 10 million euro option at Nice, but again, it seems unlikely that they will pay this.
And then there’s Rafinha’s 16 million euro release clause that will come into effect from the summer, a price that would be affordable for most clubs.
Even so, Barcelona would be left short of the 70 million euro total they need.
For this reason, there has been discussions at the club to see if selling a key player would enable them to cover their budget.
The added problem is that the day to secure this money by is June 30 and, unless LaLiga Santander and other leagues are definitively suspended, matches will still be taking place in June.
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