Joan Laporta makes Barcelona’s transfer stance crystal clear

The FC Barcelona president has made the club’s transfer position clear ahead of the January window.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has admitted the club cannot sign any new players at the moment.

Xavi Hernandez’s return as manager has stirred a flurry of transfer rumors. Reports have linked Manchester City trio Ferran Torres, Raheem Sterling, and Bernardo Silva to the club, as well as RB Leipzig’s Dani Olmo.

It appears, however, the club’s financial state continues to restrict any hope of major signings.

Laporta, who revealed a debt of €1.35 billion in August, has admitted little has changed since then. Add La Liga’s salary cap to the mix, Barca may have to settle with what they got.

🎙 [TV3] | Joan Laporta: "We have to sell players to be able to sign." pic.twitter.com/wpnOMdjnAw

— BarçaTimes (@BarcaTimes) December 2, 2021

“Xavi has asked us to strengthen the squad and we are going to try to do it, but at this moment, we haven’t got any margin [in salary cap] to do it,” he told TV3.

“Therefore, at this moment we can’t, but we have to let the sporting department work.”

In response to the Torres rumors, Laporta added: “[Torres] is one of the players that the football management has in its sights, but there are many others. You have to wait and see how everything goes. We need to keep an eye on a lot of issues.”

Barcelona return to action on Saturday for a La Liga match against Real Betis on Saturday.