Football leagues worldwide have struggled to hold clubs financially responsible  

Spanish league La Liga has told Barcelona they need to reduce their wage bill by around €200m in the summer, according to reports by Mundo Deportivo.

Enduring several financial issues, Barcelona has reached a spending cap that limits the club to resigning Gavi or Ronald Araujo under the new conditions of their contracts.

The report illustrates that Barcelona must now consider expanding its income by selling players, reducing salaries, and attracting lucrative sponsorship deals.

The rumoured discussions come after Barcelona president Joan Laporta’s statements on the club’s control over their “terminal” financial situation.

“When we arrived over a year ago, the club was in a terminal [financial] situation; we have restructured our debt, we have saved on financial costs, we have controlled our expenditure, and we have increased our revenue,” Laporta told reporters last July.

Barcelona’s “controlled expenditure” has ignited criticism from several of football’s most prominent leaders, including the President of Paris Saint-Germain and a representative of UEFA’s Executive Committee, Nasser al-Khelaifi.

“Is this fair? No, it’s not fair. Is it legal? I’m not sure. “If they allow them, others will do the same,” said al-Khelaifi in an interview with POLITICO regarding Barcelona’s commercial asset sale.

To restructure its finances, the Spanish giant has been selling future TV rights and vending its digital department to investment funds and a blockchain-based fan engagement company named Socios.

However, the reality for the Catalans has been glimpsed as dark as several footballers remain on the sidelines awaiting their renewals.

Ousmane Dembele, Sergio Busquets, Sergi Roberto, Hector Bellerin, and Marcos Alonso are all nearing the end of their contracts.

Laporta said he was hopeful of extending the contract of midfielder Gavi, whose deal is due to expire this summer.

“We are optimistic,” Laporta said. “We obviously want Gavi to continue at Barca.”

“We are close to reaching an agreement,” Laporta added. “It’s more special for us because he [Gavi] comes from our youth ranks. We want Gavi to stay. The player and his agent want it too.”

Barcelona publicly announced its debt struggles after Lionel Messi’s exit.

The Spanish giants have sheltered more than £1 billion in debt due to lackluster transfers, poor values, the global pandemic, and player wages.

Neither La Liga nor Barcelona have publicly commented on the matter.