Barcelona have registered several of their new signings with La Liga, making some of their top transfers eligible to play against Rayo Vallecano in the opening league game of the season on Saturday. Barca were in a race against the clock to get the new players registered in time so that they can be part of the team for the match at Camp Nou this weekend.
The Catalan side's dire financial situation made it difficult for them to make it official for the new signings to be able to feature in the Spanish top-flight, but they have managed to confirm them as part of the squad.
Who has been registered and who has been left out?
Robert Lewandowski, Franck Kessie, Raphinha and Andreas Christensen are the new arrivals who have been registered.
Indeed, those four have all been selected to be part of the squad for the upcoming clash.
Furthermore, Sergi Roberto and Ousmane Dembele, whose contracts at Barca expired before they committed to new deals recently, have also been registered.
Jules Kounde, who joined from Sevilla in a deal worth an initial €50 million (£42m/$50m), is the only new face at Camp Nou yet to have been registered by the club but this should go through next week.
Head coach Xavi was asked about the delay in the registrations at a press conference ahead of the season opener.
"We are working, we are very positive at the club, a lot," he said. "I think we will get out of it. Today we are optimistic, but we will see."
Why did it take Barcelona so long to register the players?
The terrible state of Barcelona's finances made it difficult for them to get the players registered on time for the new season beginning.
The club have spent big this season despite their significant debt, but their use of 'economic levers' to raise capital over the summer has given them the freedom to bring in new players.
The club sold 10 percent of their television rights for La Liga to investment Sixth Street Partners, followed by a further 15%, bringing in a total of €582m (£495m/$591m).
The club have also since confirmed the sale of 25 per cent of Barca Studios for €100m (£84m/$102m) to socios.com but will need to activate a fourth lever to register all of their new signings.
Barca can sell off the remaining 24.5% of Barca Studios which would bring in another €100m.
On Friday, they announced a further €100m (£85m/$103m) by selling off 24.5% of Barca Studios to Orpheus Media.
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)
