All of Barcelona's signings during Joan Laporta's second term

Joan Laporta returned to the presidency of FC Barcelona in March 2021. Since then, across nine transfer windows (five summer windows), the club has made a total of 30 signings for the first team, with a total investment of €349.4 million.

Problems operating under the 1:1 rule and needing to free up 'Fair Play' have conditioned spending on the squad, forcing the club to undertake various emergency operations, such as activating 'levers' (asset sales, personal guarantees) to comply with LaLiga's demands.

At FCBN, we review all the signings made in the last five seasons, where Raphinha (€58 million) remains the most expensive signing, followed by Ferran Torres and Dani Olmo (both costing €55 million).

21/22 Season: 10 Signings and €69M Investment

The first summer transfer window after Jan Laporta's return to the presidency was marked by the traumatic departure of Leo Messi and the club's worst financial crisis in the 21st century. The Argentine ended up leaving for Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer, and the club made a total of six signings, although only one represented a specific expenditure in the summer.

Barça decided to exercise the buy-back option for Emerson Royal for €14 million. The right-back would leave before the close of the transfer window for €25 million to Tottenham. That summer, Luuk de Jong and Yusuf Demir also arrived on loan, although the latter eventually returned to Rapid Vienna in January.

Memphis Depay, Eric García and Sergio Agüero arrived on 'cost-free' transfers, as did Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Dani Alves, these two in the winter transfer window. Already with Xavi Hernández on the bench, the board closed the loan of Adama Traoré and the transfer of Ferran Torres, who left Manchester City for €55 million.

Summer of 2022, the stellar market of the second Laporta era

After a trophy-less season, Barcelona made a great effort to close three 'top' transfers and a total of eight additions in the summer of 2022. Joan Laporta and Mateu Alemany spent €159 million on reinforcements, with Raphinha being the most expensive signing.

The Brazilian, then represented by Deco, landed in Catalonia from Leeds for €58 million. The club also paid €50 million for Jules Koundé and another €45 million to Bayern Munich for Robert Lewandowski, the stellar signing of that season. The other purchase was Pablo Torre, who had arrived from Racing de Santander for €6 million.

Other renowned reinforcements also arrived on 'cost-free' transfers: Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessié, Marcos Alonso and Héctor Bellerín. The right-back only stayed for six months and left in January for Sporting CP for €1 million. In the summer of 2023, he would return to LaLiga with Betis.

Of the four free agents, only Christensen remains in the squad. In January, Julián Araujo would arrive, but the Mexican full-back didn't even debut with the reserve team. After a loan to Las Palmas, he left for Bournemouth for €10 million last year.

Reduced spending and stellar names in the summer of 2023

In the summer of 2023, with Deco now at the helm of the blue and red sporting direction, Barcelona once again implemented spending cuts. However, this did not prevent them from making a total of four signings, including 'heavyweights' such as İlkay Gündogan, Joao Félix and Joao Cancelo.

The Portuguese players arrived in the final stretch of the summer market on loan, while Gündogan landed on a free transfer after winning the treble with Manchester City. By the same route came Iñigo Martínez, from Athletic Club. For his part, Oriol Romeu returned to the club for €3.4 million, being the only summer acquisition.

In the winter market, Barça closed the signing of Vitor Roque, who had to wait until he turned 18 to leave Athletico Paranaense. The Culés paid €30 million for his signing, but the Brazilian had a difficult adaptation and was loaned to Betis after a semester in which he was rarely used by Xavi Hernández.

Finally, 'Tigrinho' decided to return to his country with Palmeiras, a club that paid €25.5M for his transfer. In this way, the 'azulgrana' team ensured they would not register losses with the forward, as long as the fixed variables were met.

Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor, only reinforcements for 2024/25

After Xavi Hernández's abrupt departure, Hansi Flick took over the team in the summer of 2024. With the club still facing serious 'Fair Play' problems, the board could only close two signings: Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor, after the failed negotiation with Nico Williams.

The Terrassa native left RB Leipzig for 55 million, while the forward was signed after a great year with the reserve team for 5.5 'kilos'. After the mess with their registrations last January, Barça transferred Pau to Braga this summer, while Dani remains a key piece in the 'azulgrana' attack.

Barcelona opted for a conservative market again in 25/26

This year, the scenario was very similar. Although Joan Laporta and Deco were confident of operating without restrictions thanks to the return to the 1:1 rule, the market again unfolded with the team exceeding its salary margin and without enough cash to amortize large transfers.

Fortunately, the squad did not warrant major changes and the only 'top' transfer was that of Joan García. Barcelona paid his release clause to Espanyol (€25M) and then incorporated the promising Swedish striker Roony Bardghji for 2.5 'kilos'.

After another rejection from Nico Williams, Marcus Rashford resolved his loan move from Manchester United, with the Englishman being the main surprise of the summer for the 'azulgrana' team. 

Barcelona invested less in four years than Liverpool this summer

Thus, during Joan Laporta's second term at FC Barcelona, the club has made a total of 30 signings, with a total expenditure of 349.4 million euros in nine transfer windows.

Only Liverpool spent 489 'kilos' in the last summer market, with Alexander Isak (€145M) and Florian Wirtz (€125M) being the most expensive signings in Premier League history. Crazy, but that's how the market conditions are in LaLiga and the Premier League.

While Spanish financial 'Fair Play' suffocates almost all clubs in LaLiga with investment regulations, the English league allows its clubs to spend freely, according to the criteria and the depth of their owners' checkbooks. 

FC Barcelona signings 2021-2025:

1. ✅Players signed: 30

2. 💶Total investment in signings: 349.4 million euros

The five most expensive players signed in Laporta's second term:

1. Raphinha: 58 M€

2. Ferran Torres: 55 M€

3. Dani Olmo: 55 M€

4. Jules Koundé: 50 M€

5. Robert Lewandowski: 45 M€