FC Barcelona will be able to register Marcos Alonso, Sergi Roberto, Iñaki Peña, Gavi and Araújo without the need to make any transfers. On the other hand, he will have to work to reduce an excessive wage bill that will allow him to register his new additions, such as the already announced Ilkay Gündogan or the ex-central of Athletic Iñigo Martínez, who has already reached an agreement with the club but which has not yet been officially announced.
The minimum objective of the entity is to reduce to 531.946 million euros salary costs for the coming season from a salary mass that, according to the latest photograph of LaLiga, now oscillates between 600 and 650 millions of euros.
The 532 million wage bill includes the cost of five footballers with contracts in force who have already played on loan this season, who continue to have no placement in Xavi Hernández’s squad and who, if they do not leave, they will cost Barça 51.255 million euros next season. These are Lenglet, Umtiti and Sergiño Dest, from the first team, and Àlex Collado and Gustavo Maia, from the subsidiary.
Of all of them the most expensive is Samuel Umtiti. Although in January 2022 Barça renewed his contract until 2026, three years longer than he had stipulated and in a pact that entailed the Frenchman dropping his fee, Umtiti is costing Barcelona 20 million this year. He was not part of Xavi’s plans and last summer he went on loan to Italian Lecce without an option to buy. He ended up being the undisputed starter. In total he has played 24 games in Serie A. Barça hope to be able to sign him this summer. On the table is the interest of Olympique de Lyon, the club in which he was trained, but also of other competitive teams in Italy.
The second is Clément Lenglet, with a salary of 16.046 million euros for the next year. The Gaul was one of the players who renewed after individually agreeing their conditions in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Signed through 2026 with deferred salary. Tottenham, the team in which he has played on loan this season, wants to sign him. Although from the club they perceive that his exit may be the first to be closed, from the environment of the footballer they assure that the pact to continue in London is still far away and they do not rule out other paths in the Premier League.
Sergiño Dest, with a contract until 2025, will have an annual cost to Barça of 10.792 million euros. The American full-back, who was never to Xavi’s liking, arrived in the summer of 2020. He went on loan to Milan with a purchase option of 20 million that the Italian club has rejected for his high file and for its low participation. He has played a total of 14 games. With no offers to leave, Dest plans to spend pre-season with the first team.
Finally there are the cases of Àlex Collado and Gustavo Maia, with the subsidiary file. With two goals and one assist in 15 games, Collado, a striker trained at La Masia, has barely featured in Elche. His contract with Barcelona ends in June 2024 and the footballer is surveying the market. He has received the interest of clubs from the League, from Greece, Scotland and other more exotic ones. The club does not rule out giving him the letter of freedom. It has a cost of 2.746 million.
Gustavo Maia has one more year of contract than Collado. He signed until 2025 and next season will cost Barça 1.671 million. His signing took place in August 2020, and has been marked by the high price paid in São Paulo (4.5 million) and by the lack of prominence with Barça: only eight games with the subsidiary and none goal Nor has he participated in Valencia Mestalla, the team to which he left on loan.
