Barcelona yet to return to the 1:1 rule despite recent €40 million injection

Yesterday, Barcelona took an important step towards financial stability with the announcement of an extended partnership with Aramark.

This deal is set to bring the club an income of 40 million euros, thereby paring the losses the club incurred through the sale of Barça Vision to Libero, who are yet to pay the amount.

Shortly after the deal was made official, reports indicated that Barcelona have now returned to the 1:1 rule, which will allow the club to spend every euro the club generate.

Barcelona have not returned to the 1:1 rule

However, as per Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona are still not able to achieve the desired 1:1 scenario in its financial fair play regulations, despite the recent agreement with Aramark.

That is because the agreement made public by the Blaugrana club must be approved by La Liga.

The club are required to submit the contract and all necessary documentation to the employers’ association, outlining the conditions of the extended employment relationship with Aramark.

Secondly, once L aLiga approves the agreement, the €40 million from Aramark would help balance the debt that Barcelona has had pending since last summer due to the sale of Barça Studios in 2022.

Barcelona require more economic levers (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)

The sale was valued at €200 million, but so far, the club has only paid €40 million of that total—€20 million at the time of the sale and another €20 million in the summer of 2023.

What Barça must do to return to 1:1 rule

With the approval of the Aramark agreement, Barcelona can pay off the outstanding €40 million from last summer.

However, the club still needs to pay the remaining €60 million from the third instalment of the sale, due in the summer of 2025.

Even though the pending payment for this summer does not need to be made all at once or in a prorated manner, the club have not yet managed to balance its financial fair play to comply with the 1:1 rule.

Barcelona are closer to achieving this goal but still need additional income from agreements with Nike and other sponsors, or by reducing its wage bill through player departures.

The new deal with Nike, in particular, could significantly boost the club’s finances, but the two parties are yet to announce any deal despite months of negotiations.

The summer transfer window closes in 22 days, giving Barcelona limited time to achieve these objectives.

Until then, the 50% rule remains in effect, allowing only 50% of each player sale to be reused for new registrations, with a potential increase to 60% if the sold player’s salary is at least 5% of the total squad cost.

Therefore, Barcelona are still not in a position to operate at full capacity in the transfer market, which in turn, could significantly impact the club’s pursuit of top targets such as Nico Williams.

The coming weeks, therefore, could prove to be crucial as Barça desperately look to restore their economic stability.