Barcelona: Sacrifice Again and Again

20/08/2025 09:33:00 FieldFrenzy

Following the successful registration of Joan Garcia and Marcus Rashford, Barcelona must now tackle other pressing issues. These include resolving the futures of Inaki Pena, Oriol Romeu, and Hector Fort.

These players are not included in coach Hansi Flick’s plans, and all three are required to find new clubs before the summer transfer window closes.

Departures

Goalkeeper Inaki Pena missed his opportunity last season due to psychological challenges and his inability to control the penalty area when Ter Stegen was unavailable. Despite his standout performance in the 4-0 win over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in last season’s first El Clasico, boasting a 64% save rate (saving 34 out of 53 shots), the 26-year-old lacked composure in high-pressure matches, often conceding decisive goals and failing to instill confidence in his teammates.

Consequently, the Catalan coaching staff sought an alternative in Wojciech Szczesny, who had announced his retirement and was on vacation. The experienced Polish goalkeeper quickly secured the starting role at Barca, contributing to three domestic titles. He continues with the team this season as backup to Joan Garcia. With Stegen sidelined for four months after surgery, even young keeper Diego Kochen has been given a chance by the German manager.

The Alicante-born goalkeeper has only one year left on his contract and is trying to negotiate an extension before a possible loan move. Pena is likely to join Como, though he is considering other options as well. Celta Vigo, initially a potential destination earlier in the summer, appears to have renewed negotiations with him in recent days. However, before seriously pursuing such a deal, the club must address several other situations first.

One of those is Oriol Romeu, who, like Pena, has just one year left on his contract after returning from loan at Girona. He may negotiate an early contract termination to leave as a free agent. For Hector Fort, things are clearer: he is not seen as a solution at right-back, with Flick still counting on Eric Garcia as backup for Jules Kounde this season.

To protect the first team, Barcelona has had to offload several players and sacrifice the interests of its other sports divisions.

The Catalan club is working to sign a left-footed center-back to replace Inigo Martinez, but this will only proceed if the board receives approval from La Liga for VIP seat sales at Camp Nou.

Other sports sections are also affected

Selling players is not the only issue facing President Joan Laporta. To safeguard the first team, Barcelona’s other sports sections have also had to make financial sacrifices in recent years to comply with the club’s financial situation and La Liga’s regulations.

The basketball team has seen the departure of star players, as has the handball squad, but the most concerning was the exit of six female Barca players, which served as a warning sign. “The fairness rule applies to the entire club and, therefore, to all departments,” explained Xavi O’Callaghan, Barcelona’s professional sports director. “It would be easier for everyone if each sport had its own regulations, rather than professional football rules controlling everything else. That’s not very reasonable. But we have to play the hand we’re dealt, even if it’s not the fairest,” O’Callaghan added.

In fact, last Wednesday, the board approved a €7 million guarantee to cover discrepancies from the original wage budget that couldn’t be registered. O’Callaghan confirmed that this €7 million did not come from individual sections, but rather from the men’s football division. Without this guarantee—which was needed even if the club complied with the 1:1 rule—the first team would have lost out, directly impacting the other sports sections since they are also subject to financial fair play rules.

Last season, Barca spent €91 million on unregistered wages, with one-third allocated to men’s football. The remainder was distributed among the other sections. Next season, the wage budget will rise to €95 million, and since the overall budget remains unchanged, management must implement maximum cuts in other departments.

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