Barcelona accept €60m UEFA fine for FFP breaches, may face Champions League restrictions | OneFootball

Barcelona have accepted a UEFA punishment for breaching Financial Fair Play regulations. The European body have disagreed with the Catalan giants on the categorisation of income over their infamous economic levers, but both sides settled on a punishment for the coming two seasons.

President Joan Laporta held a third meeting with Aleksander Ceferin this season on Thursday, discussing Barcelona’s potential punishment. The verdict has been handed out, as Barcelona sat alongside Chelsea, Aston Villa and Olympique Lyon, who have also been fined for breaches.

Barcelona face conditional fine from UEFA

The Blaugrana have accepted a €15m fine as a starting point, as per Ben Jacobs, and from there on, have agreed a series of stipulations for the next two seasons, upon which they will be assessed by the governing body. If the Catalan giants fail to meet those targets, then UEFA will impose the full €60m fine – the extra €45m is conditioned on meeting those goals.

Image via UEFA

Champions League squad restrictions

It is not yet clear whether the punishments will end there. All four of the teams facing sanctions have accepted either conditional or unconditional squad regulations for the upcoming Champions League campaigns. These restrictions limit a club’s ability to register new players in their A-list for European competition, effectively leaving the club in breach with a shorter squad.

If those restrictions are conditional, the restrictions will hinge on those objectives over the next two seasons, but otherwise, will be imposed from next season. At this point, it is not yet clear which Barcelona are facing.

Questions over Barcelona finances

This is the latest development that brings into question Barcelona’s finances. Laporta has claimed a dramatic improvement over the last three years, but following a €91m loss last year, are now facing a fine due to breaching FFP regulations. That follows on from seeing the signing of Nico Williams slip away due to struggles to register players, an issue that has plagued the club for the last four summers.