LaLiga changes its financial rules: Is Barça the big beneficiary?

The clubs of LaLiga will enter the next transfer market with new rules that will allow them to operate with greater freedom. The governing body of Spanish football has approved a series of modifications to its economic control regulations that will influence the calculation of the salary cap and player renewals, as well as investment in women's football.

The idea of the entity led by Javier Tebas is to provide greater financial flexibility to teams and encourage signings in the summer window while still ensuring the solvency and sustainability of the institutions. In this sense, teams like FC Barcelona, which have faced numerous restrictions in recent years in the economic area, receive a breath of fresh air for future movements in the construction of their squads.

LaLiga helps protect the 'gems' of the academy

Firstly, LaLiga has introduced a novelty in article 103, which allows the renewal of a player even without having room in the salary cap. For this, the player must be under 24 years old and have been registered as a member of the first team for at least the last three consecutive seasons at the same club. However, this surplus in financial 'fair play' must be compensated throughout the current season, otherwise, it will be deducted from the salary cap for the following season.

In terms of Barça, this measure will help retain the young talent that is starting to break into the first team. 'Gems' like Marc Bernal, Marc Casadó, or Alejandro Balde, among others, may see their contracts improved in the future even if the institution does not have enough salary space at that time, without this leading to a breach of LaLiga's financial control regulations.

The other key changes in LaLiga's financial control

On the other hand, the governing body has adjusted the guidelines that measure the expenses of clubs that exceed their salary cap. This rule, known as the 1/4 or 1/3 rule, stipulated that for every four euros saved in salaries and amortizations, one could be spent on new signings. Now, it will remain at a percentage of 60% for players with an average salary and 70% if the player is considered a franchise player, that is, among the highest earners in the squad.

However, in the case of a capital gain from the sale of players, these percentages will be fixed at 20% if it is a player with a standard salary or 30% if it is a franchise player. In this way, teams with salary mass problems will have more leeway to face the arrival of reinforcements to their squads, as long as they do not jeopardize the sustainability of the entity.

Finally, the modification of the regulations has also impacted women's football, as institutions in the First and Second Divisions will be able to allocate more resources to this section without it overly affecting the salary cap of the men's team. According to this change, a club can make its women's division budget weigh only up to 2 million euros on the 'fair play' of the men's team, thus maintaining balance in the overall salary cap.