It’s Barça in the meantime. Not because of Laporta, but because of Bartomeu. Almost a year following the change of presidency, the club continues to manage in the meantime because the slab of the past – especially in terms of payroll – is so huge that the new project cannot be started without continuing to mortgage the future. The reset it does not exist. Each operation to try to make the team more competitive requires real juggling. The famous fiscal engineering we criticized in the past. But with a difference. The previous board pulled financial trillionism to correct its own mistakes, while Mateu Alemany and Ferran Reverter do it to survive the terrible efforts of their predecessors. And for now, despite the mistakes, because they have been made, the two executives are getting away with it. Barça have a better squad than a month ago. And that came to the window of the winter market with a mass wage that prevented imagining any operation of this magnitude. In addition, the accounting engineering that was used every summer to make up the numbers was mainly for economic reasons. Now, however, sports are the priority.
Samuel Umtiti has had a gesture with Barça that allows Ferran Torres to sign, a downward renewal that will also serve to alleviate the tension around his figure. The Frenchman makes a 10% financial waiver and postpones his salary, but might recover some of that money in 2023. Then he might be laid off and compensated with the deferred money until 2026. operation to lower the payroll that saves the meantime. As was the case with Coutinho. It is clear that neither of the two operations are ideal, but given the legacy inherited, they are essential steps to achieve the goal: to make a hole for Ferran Torres.
Initially, the registration of the Valencian striker was subject to the renewal of Dembélé. Plan A failed miserably but in a few days a plan B has been found to avoid the ridiculousness of not being able to enroll Torres. And it has been achieved without growing this giant with feet of mud that is the current Barça. That was the problem of the previous board. With money that was not his – an important note – they fed the giant madly until he became uncontrollable. Bartholomew only thought of growing, in the famous 1 billion in revenue, not to mention that revenue is not everything. An obsession that is condemning Barça to continue managing in the meantime and giving improbable news such as the renewal of Umtiti.
