Barcelona currently find themselves in a difficult situation as Ilkay Gundogan has yet to be registered with La Liga, and if this is not completed before Sunday’s opening fixture, they could face disaster.
Gundogan joined on a free transfer from Manchester City this summer after captaining Pep Guardiola’s side to the treble, but his signing is yet to be confirmed as Barcelona have not yet made the sales they previously anticipated.
A report from SPORT has now explained that Gundogan has a clause in his contract which will allow him to leave for free, with Barcelona paying his salary for a full year, if he is not registered in time for the La Liga season to begin.
Xavi’s side face Almeria on Sunday, and if Gundogan cannot be added to their registration list to feature, they could potentially face a massive disaster if he chooses to depart. None of their new signings have been registered yet, but the clause in Gundogan’s contract puts extra pressure on the club to confirm his paperwork.
Ousmane Dembele and Franck Kessie are on the verge of exits which will help provide Barcelona with funding to confirm their new arrivals, but the initial plan they pitched to La Liga anticipated further sales of the likes of Clement Lenglet and Sergino Dest, which have not yet happened.
Registration problems continue
Barcelona faced issues at the start of last season as they were unable to register Jules Kounde in time for the start of the season, and he missed the opening games of the campaign.
With Oriol Romeu and Inigo Martinez also unregistered, Xavi may face a big problem if he is set to be without his new signings again, and if Barcelona drop points in this time, it will further highlight how much of an issue they are facing.
Gundogan’s situation is the priority, and they have just five days to find a solution to register them. It now seems that a further economic ‘lever’ will be activated with the sale of 16% of Barca Studios, and when this goes through, they will hope to be able to register the German.
The financial problems continue at Barcelona despite success in La Liga last season, and they will now hope that Xavi’s side can continue to perform on the pitch amidst the struggles off it.