Barcelona find clever loophole to ease financial pressure | OneFootball

According to a report from SPORT, Barcelona may be struggling financially and facing complications when it comes to registering new signings, but there is a silver lining when it comes to contract renewals.

Thanks to updated La Liga regulations, the club will be able to free up space under their salary cap by extending contracts of existing players without facing the same amortisation restrictions applied to new signings.

Earlier in 2025, La Liga introduced changes to its Budgeting Rules. One of the key updates requires clubs to amortise new signings over a maximum of five years or only four years if the club is over the salary cap limit.

However, this rule does not apply to renewals of players already under contract. Article 94.6 of La Liga’s financial regulations allows clubs to spread the remaining amortisation over the new length of a player’s extended deal.

This creates more flexibility and helps clubs like Barcelona gain breathing room within Financial Fair Play limits.

Raphinha and Kounde’s renewals key

The outlet mentions that this clause is especially important in the cases of Raphinha and Jules Kounde.

Kounde and Raphinha’s renewal will be key for Barcelona. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

Both players signed for Barcelona in the summer of 2022 on contracts that originally ran until 2027. Raphinha has already renewed his deal until 2028, and Kounde is set to extend his contract until 2030.

For Raphinha, of the €58 million transfer fee, €34.8 million has already been amortised, leaving €23.2 million outstanding.

Previously, Barcelona had to account for €11.6 million per season for the next two years. With an extra year added to his deal, that drops to around €7.73 million per year, saving Barça nearly €3.87 million annually in amortisation charges.

As for Kounde, with €20 million remaining to be amortised over two years, his renewal until 2030 allows the club to spread that cost over five seasons instead.

This cuts his yearly amortisation to just €4 million, down from €10 million, freeing up nearly €6 million per season.

Overall, Barcelona could save close to €9.87 million in Fair Play margin, money that can be redirected towards registering new signings.

While new signings remain tricky to register due to ongoing financial constraints, Barcelona are using the renewal path smartly to gain flexibility. These strategic extensions could prove essential in giving the club some much-needed room to operate.