Barcelona waiting to know their Fair Play margin after Depay’s exit to plan next move

On Friday afternoon, Barcelona confirmed the departure of Memphis Depay to Atletico Madrid in a deal worth €3 million plus €1 million in add-ons.

The Dutchman had grown into a bit-part player at Camp Nou this season under Xavi Hernandez and with his contract expiring in the summer, the Catalans decided to cash in on him for a total fee of €4 million, while also securing a purchase option on Yannick Carrasco.

Now that Depay’s transfer is over the line, Barcelona are considering their next steps in the January market. But, before they make any moves, the Blaugrana are waiting to hear from La Liga to learn about their Financial Fair Play margin, reports Mundo Deportivo.

Barcelona have lost two players from their squad, with Depay leaving and Gerard Pique retiring from football altogether. Hence, they are working to bring in at least one new player in the ongoing January transfer window.

A new forward to replace Depay could be looked at while they are also exploring the possibility of roping in Marcelo Brozovic from Inter Milan.

At the same time, Barça are also considering utilising the Fair Play margin that would be generated to register the contracts of Gavi and Ronald Araujo, if they are unable to sign any new players.

Hence, they are waiting to hear from La Liga and understand how much funds will be available at their disposal to manoeuvre around in the January transfer window.

As per La Liga’s rules, the clubs exceeding their salary limit will only be able to reinvest only 40% of the revenue they generate, meaning Barcelona can only utilise around €3.8 million on a new transfer operation following Depay’s sale.

The Catalans are waiting for an official word from La Liga, though, before they decide to make their next move, be it signing a new player or registering the contracts of some of their players.