UEFA reduces Barça's fine, but imposes conditions

FC Barcelona reached an agreement with UEFA to considerably reduce the sanction imposed by the organization chaired by Aleksander Čeferin for the alleged breach of the 'fair play' financial regulations.

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As recently disclosed, this reduction was effective thanks to a pact that allowed the Blaugrana club to pay only a third of the original fine. Instead of paying the initially stipulated 60 million euros, the culé team will have to cancel only about 20 'kilos'.

UEFA conditions to maintain the reduction

However, this reduction is not unconditional. As revealed by Cadena Ser, the Catalan team must meet a series of economic requirements over the next three years. During that period, FC Barcelona will have to demonstrate its ability to balance income and expenses without resorting to accounting mechanisms that UEFA considers invalid, such as the well-known 'economic levers'.

UEFA only accepts the following as valid sources of income:

1. New income derived from the future Spotify Camp Nou stadium, once it is operational.
2. Salary reduction of the first team.
3. Direct sale of players.

Financial supervision and possible future sanctions

For the next three years, Barcelona will be subject to exhaustive financial control by UEFA, which will also take as a reference the supervision criteria of LaLiga regarding movements of registrations and deregistrations and compliance with the salary limit.

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In the event that the culé team does not comply with the commitments acquired, it could face not only having to pay the full amount of the fine (the original €60M) without room for negotiation, but also sports sanctions. Among the possible consequences are:

1. Restrictions on the registration of players in European competitions.
2. Even the loss of points in the UEFA Champions League.

UEFA values the effort, but demands more

UEFA has positively valued the club's effort to contain salaries and advance in the remodeling of the stadium. However, the financial balance presented by FC Barcelona still shows a significant deficit, which is why it is required to generate concrete and tangible income that allows correcting this imbalance between income and expenses.

There is some discomfort in the Barcelona team due to the position of UEFA. From the club, it is considered that, instead of offering room to get out of an inherited economic situation, the European organization has been inflexible with a sanction that many within the club consider disproportionate.

Even so, the board of directors, headed by Joan Laporta, has decided to accept the conditions as a lesser evil, convinced that, thanks to the levers - with their virtues and risks - the club has managed to stay afloat and continue competing at the highest level.