According to Barcelona president Joan Laporta, the top players in the world prioritise signing for the Catalan club.
Well, we may be about to find out over the next month whether or not his words ring true.
Certainly, whether this summer or not, Kylian Mbappe will soon be available and so the lure of the La Liga champions will be tested to the full.
Right now, though, Barca are settling on others such as the signing of Ilkay Gundogan, fresh from helping Manchester City to a silverware clean sweep.
Inigo Martinez is expected to arrive from Athletic Bilbao, again on a free transfer, while among those also linked are Oriol Romeu (Girona), Iván Fresneda (Real Valladolid), Vitor Roque (Athletico Paranaense) and Arda Güler (Fenerbahçe), the latter two particularly strongly mooted and expected to join. But when, and at what cost?
Back to Laporta. the Blaugrana president made his comments while unveiling ‘Barca Vision’, a content platform where the club intends to group together all of its digital initiatives.
With such bold talk and such bold concepts, perhaps Barcelona will be able to sustain their quest for glory next term.
They will be keen to defend the league crown they have just won for the first time in four seasons and fare better in the Champions League next term after back-to-back group stage exits over the past two seasons.
It has been mooted by this SBOTOP observer that they may need to get their financial house in order first.
They have made a start with the departures of Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba helping lower the wage bill.
Meanwhile, the prestige of the La Liga highlights which brought title success will bring a further an increase in profile and sponsorship opportunities, as well as an extra €8.93 million in TV money.
The club will once again be a top seed in the Champions League next season, which will affect its TV share, earning 40%, an extra 10% more than the league runners-up.
Laporta also believes the construction of the new Camp Nou will come in under budget.
Yet, despite all of this, a number of players may well need to be sold given there is a reported €200 million gap between the club and the permitted salary limit.
With Clement Lenglet (possibly set for a move to Spurs), Samuel Umtiti, Sergino Dest, Gustavo Maia and Alex Collado all still on the books, the club’s ability to recruit has potentially been slowed down.
Talented youngster Ansu Fati has been linked with a move away which could, potentially, free up some cash.
In addition, Laporta has acknowledged that “there are also offers for Andreas Christensen, Pedri, Gavi, Ronald Araújo, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Raphinha and Alejandro Balde, although it’s hard to believe manager Xavi Hernandez would want to lose many, if any, of them.
What follows over the next month may well determine how Barca fare next season and whether they can leapfrog arch rivals Real Madrid in the La Liga betting odds.
Remember, this is a club which is still paying former star Lionel Messi until 2025 (even though he left them two years ago) after the Catalans failed to offer him a new contract that would successfully allow them to navigate Financial Fair Play limits.
Cash-trapped and debt-ridden or ready to challenge yet again for major honours?
Actions speak louder than words so watch this space.
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