Barcelona may be on the cusp of re-entering the ‘1:1 rule’ for the first time in three years, with La Liga officials hinting at this possibility. This comes after consistent assurances from the club’s leadership that it would happen, which have not materialized in the past three years.
Recent communications from Barcelona suggest they are only €11-12 million short of increasing their squad salary limit, which would grant them greater flexibility in the summer transfer market. Since the pandemic, Barcelona has only been within their salary cap once in 2022, a situation facilitated by inflated limits stemming from the controversial “economic levers” or asset sales.
Javier Gomez: “No club knows yet, but 95% have a rough idea”
During a media event on Tuesday, La Liga CEO Javier Gomez addressed questions regarding Barcelona’s salary limit situation.
“We cannot make assessments; you can. But there is public data. The auditor has accepted, for example, around €70m from the VIP boxes. Then there’s Lewandowski’s departure, he has a high salary cost. They’re going to open a new stand at Camp Nou. That’s enough to form an opinion,” he told Sport.
“We have to consider the impact and amortization of Lewandowski. There’s a club that has a specific squad budget for the 2026/27 season. They have a player who consumes a lot of their resources and who won’t be there anymore. Even though it was planned that he wouldn’t continue, they’ve already done their calculations. No club knows yet if they’re over budget or not, but almost 95% of them already have a rough idea of what their situation will be.”
What does the ‘1:1 rule’ mean for Barcelona?
The ‘1:1 rule’ applies to teams that are within their salary limit, allowing them to reinvest the full amount of money generated from player sales and wage savings. In contrast, teams exceeding their salary limit can only utilize 60% of additional income from wage savings and transfers for new player registrations. It’s worth noting that La Liga has previously expressed optimism about Barcelona’s salary limit situation without the ‘1:1 rule ultimately being implemented.
