Barcelona can spend up to €3 million on a winter signing – report

Memphis Depay’s departure to Atletico Madrid has left Barcelona looking for a replacement in the transfer market. Coach Xavi Hernandez, in particular, is determined to find an attacker that can alleviate the loss of the Dutchman, even though he did not play a crucial role in the first-team.

But due to the club’s altercations with the Financial Fair Play regulations, there has always been a cloud of uncertainty over how much Barcelona are allowed to spend in the market.

According to Mundo Deportivo, the Catalans can spend up to €3 million on a new player in this January transfer window. This figure has been generated through the sale of Depay, who joined Atleti for a fee of around €3 million and a variable worth another million.

But the overall value is not generated solely through the €3 million Atleti paid to Barça. In fact, it is only 25% of the transfer value, which figures to an amount of €750,000.

The remaining value has been generated through the salary figure that has been saved thanks to Depay’s departure from Camp Nou.

Barcelona used to pay Depay a gross salary of around €11 million per season. Considering we are halfway through the campaign, the club have saved €5.5 million of payment. Applying the 40% rule, the club could generate a margin of €2.2 million.

Adding the figures from the saved salary margin and the transfer revenue, Barcelona can thus invest up to €3 million in a new player, which appears to be too meagre even if the club go after a player whose contract is expiring at the end of the season.

Barcelona, though, can opt out of signing a new player in January and save the €3 million for the coming season, as the new rules also apply not only for January but also for the savings of the upcoming 2023/24 campaign.