Nike deal sealed, Laporta playing with fire (again) if he can’t close it | Relief

Nobody explains it to him. More than a month ago, everyone was full of optimism and good prospects regarding Barcelona and its financial situation. It all started from the point of view that The club, chaired by Joan Laporta, were set to sign a huge deal to extend their contract with main sponsor Nike.which, together with some sales and a couple of other details, should have returned to the Barça team the famous 1 to 1 rule, that is, to be able to pay the salaries of their entire team and not sign conditional contracts due to the burden of exceeding the salary cap.

The signing seemed inevitable, people talked about it naturally, all parties commented on the move. off the recordas a great operation (especially for Barcelona) and In fact, such details as the fact that that the first women’s team was one of the strong points that tipped the scales in favor of this renewal.

Inevitable… but not that inevitable. With just over a week left before the market closes, the deal remains unsigned. And what is inevitable is that Laporta’s men will have to operate throughout this summer’s transfer window without the benefit of the 1:1 rule. What does that mean? Well, being able to spend what you earn freely and not being forced to obey the infamous Article 100 of economic control, which (significantly) restricts your freedom to move around with the money you earn through transfers or wage savings. Which is the same thing: They had to work on the transfer market againWith shot in the wing. And there are already several of them.

At the start of the summer, there were many who spoke out. Laporta himself, with great fanfare, declared that he could sign Nico Williams, that their score was very close to 1:1 and that the prospects were finally good. La Liga president Javier Tebas himself confirmed these good omens shortly after, assuring that he believed that the Blaugrana would be able to behave normally financially at the end of this summer. You don’t believe it anymore? Well, actually yes, but the level of assertiveness and optimism in Barça’s reports has significantly decreased..

Close Nike opens up everything else

The Nike contract extension remains inexplicably on hold. If it had been done in July, as it seemed, and the good job Barcelona are doing in cutting down the squad, the signing of Dani Olmo or the possibility of including Marc Pubilla would have been much easier. They might not even have to show Gundogan the exit door..

But Laporta remains in negotiations at the end of August. With the risk that this entails and starting from a hypothetical position of strength that is in reality very far from being“Nike cannot risk being in the public eye as being responsible for the collapse of Barça” – this line of reasoning seems to be weighing on the noble district of Camp Nou… as if it were true. But it’s not..

In fact, the American firm is backed by a court order if they do not sign an extension with Barcelona, ​​which obliges both parties to honour the contract they have already signed, and which is valid until 2028That is to say: if anyone is in a hurry, it’s not Nike.

Otherwise…good.

Why is there no feeling of total anxiety (yet)? Well, because the rest of Barcelona’s work is actually impeccable. Significantly reduce personnel costs, sign a 40 million sponsorship with Aramark, of which for economic control purposes they “count” only 25, register Inigo Thank you due to Araujo’s injury, without increasing his salary cap, try get rid of Langle and other players with high salaries, so as not to spend crazy money… But all this is not destined to come true if they do not close the main sponsorship with Nike.

After consulting with several of the most knowledgeable sources about Barcelona’s financial reality and the Nike deal, we have come to the conclusion that they pull too hard on a ropeBy the end of August, the agreement with the multinational must be resolved, since the risk of any problems at this stage means playing with fire again. And all this because of the absurd move to sell Barça Studios, which will weigh on them for many years.

Sign up Olmo… and Vestigia’s rescuer.

In fact, by doing a deal with Nike they would almost solve the problem. And they could sign Olmo without any problem. And not much else, at least not without additional sales. Rumours of transfer fees for the likes of Rafa Leao and the like surely suggest that they will be first in the 1:1 rule and therefore have new money to pursue other players. For now, the reality is to sign those they already have (and accommodate Lenglet) rather than risk anything further.

Another light at the end of the tunnel seems to be in the Vestigia fund, which last year already contributed 20 of the 40 million that Libero left unpaid. And they are the epicentre of the problem. Vestigia seems to be still interested in entering the Barcelona business and is ready to contribute even more for them. If they manage to agree on a figure of around 20-25 million euros and (again) sign a deal with Nike, Laporta’s men will already be in a 1:1 rule.. But this money must come. The sooner, the better.

Solution options and the “shield effect” as an explanation.

There is nothing crazy or complicated about it, here’s why Everyone claims that it can be achieved. What is not easy to explain is why they are dragging it out so much.. The only logic in this is to preserve the furniture of public opinion in the face of another summer of restrictions. Despite returning to 1-1, Barcelona could not spend much money or make some spectacular acquisitions. At least they solve their problems over the phone, they don’t have to admit it to their fans. And guilt They are again handed over to more responsible parties: Libero, Nike, Tebas, Socios… anyone except Laporta’s Council.

Nobody wants Barcelona to sink. And what’s more, it’s practically impossible because it always there will be (painful) mechanisms to avoid this. The path was always the same: sign Nike, plug the hole in fictitious leverage from Barça Studios, sell players and ease the team’s salary burden. They haven’t done it yet and could have decided much earlier. They will know why.

Now we just have to wait for the good of Barça. that things were going wrong with Nike at the last minute and that the sponsorship could continue.. If not, the American brand will continue to dress Barça until 2028, but the club will be in a very difficult financial situation. Much worse than before.