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Barcelona‘s transfer budget has been wiped out due to the losses incurred as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, sources told Moises Llorens and Sam Marsden of ESPN.
As such, the Catalan club will only be able to sign players using proceeds from its own sales this summer or by finding suitable trading partners willing to make swap deals.
President Josep Maria Bartomeu has allocated between €60 million and €75 million for new signings each summer since 2015, according to Llorens and Marsden. But that figure has been totally decimated this year; Barcelona vice president Jordi Cardoner said last month that the club had already lost €140 million due to the crisis.
Barca had lofty transfer plans prior to the work stoppage. In addition to the club’s well-documented pursuit of Lautaro Martinez and Neymar, the Blaugrana were also in the market for a midfielder, a right-back, and a center-back who could eventually take the place of veteran Gerard Pique, Llorens and Marsden note.
Those objectives will …read more