In the summer of last year, with tons of pain and stupor within the Barcelona Football Club, Messi packed his bags and left for Paris. The team of his life could not face the salary limit of LaLiga; the exorbitant salaries of its sacred cows and the massive waste for decades had ruined an entity that once seemed exemplary. Barça, with the Camp Nou gray, neglected and half-empty, without the financial capacity to compete for the Champions League, experienced a season of bitterness punctuated with few moments of euphoria, such as the 0-4 at the Bernabéu. Desktop code Image for mobile, amp and app Mobile code AMP code 2460 APP code The loss in the Europa League against Eintracht and Real Madrid’s fourteenth European Cup still sting in Barcelona, but this summer transfer window is returning the illusion to the barcelonismo. The levers (or mortgages) of Joan Laporta have filled the club’s coffers with liquidity and Mateu Alemany, masterfully, has once again built a fearsome Barcelona. Lewandowski arrived for 45 million euros, Koundé for 50, Raphinha for 58 -in addition to Kessie and Christensen, both at zero cost at the end of their respective contracts- and when July reaches its twilight, Barça is the entity that has spent the most money among the big European clubs (153 million). However, the journey of Xavi’s men in the market has not yet concluded. While Laporta fantasizes about finishing his work with the return of Messi, the club is working on the incorporation of two full-backs. Marcos Alonso and Azpilicueta, both from Chelsea, are the favorites of the Barça sports management. La Liga continues to decline Despite Barcelona’s unexpected verve this summer, Spanish football is going through a crisis that threatens to become endemic. At the moment, although the pathology does not seem sporty – continental success is in charge of demonstrating it year after year -, it does suffer a deep economic wound. So much so, that of the 385 million that have been spent in the First Division, a tiny amount compared to the more than a thousand in the Premier League or the 523 in Series A, 60.51% of the total (231 million) is assumed between Real Madrid and Barcelona. In times of gloom, the gap between rich and poor widens. Likewise, it has been quite a few summers since the national noble clubs have not gone out on the transfer market with the superiority of yesteryear: Spain is no longer the favorite destination for great talents, who today prefer to go to English fortunes. Thus, a club like Leeds that fought until the end of the course not to go down to the Championship, has already spent 108.5 million this summer. Another example that helps to understand this phenomenon is the case of Nottingham Forest. The two-time European champion, after more than 20 years out of the elite, has just been promoted to the Premier and has already invested 82 million euros in players. In this way, among the 20 teams that have paid the most capital in the current transfer window, ten are British and only two (Real Madrid and Barcelona) are Spanish. Even Italy, awaiting more moves from Inter and Milan, has three clubs among these 20 teams (Juventus, Atalanta and Napoli). On the other hand, the 80 million paid by Real Madrid only correspond to the transfer of Aurélien Tchouaméni, who is up to now the most expensive signing of a summer period in which large outlays are not expected. The white club, once the absolute protagonist of numerous markets, does not plan to further strengthen its squad. However, if Ceballos or Asensio left the club in August, Real Madrid would consider looking for a center forward to replace the irreplaceable Benzema, the only nine of Ancelotti’s men. Less investment after the passage of the pandemic In contrast to the large pre-pandemic outlays, when it was common to see transfers of more than 100 million euros, in this football still hurt by the blow of the coronavirus, prices have dropped considerably. Thus, the ten most expensive signings this summer are: Tchouaméni (80 million, Real Madrid), Darwin Núñez (75, Liverpool), De Ligt (67, Bayern), Haaland (60, Manchester City), Richarlison (58, Tottenham ), Raphinha (58, Barcelona), Lisandro Martínez (57, Manchester United), Sterling (56, Chelsea), Gabriel Jesús (52, Arsenal) and Koundé (50, Barcelona).
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