First they tried to bring back Lionel Messi, then they briefly brought back Dani Alves. Rafa Márquez returned to take over the B team, Xavi Hernández came home, this time as coach, and Deco arrived again, the former midfielder becoming sporting director. They tried to persuade Carles Puyol to join them. And now Joan Laporta, the president who also returned, re-elected to the post 17 years after he first ran for it and ten years after he left, wants Edgar Davids to return to FC Barcelona.
At least an Edgar Davids. And yes, that was exactly how the president put it. At 50 it may be a little late to put the real Davids in the middle of midfield, but on the eve of their last competitive match before Christmas, 24 hours before they then flew to Dallas for a friendly in return for five million euros 4.3 million) that they desperately need, Laporta announced that the signing Barcelona wanted was someone like the Dutchman. The reference was immediately understood by everyone, even after almost twenty years. His name is synonymous with a winter transfer that works, a catalyst for change.
When Davids arrived in January 2004, Barcelona were seventh, 15 points behind Real Madrid. In Laporta’s first season as president, things crumbled and there was no way out of the crisis. Davids’ first match ended in a 1-1 draw against Athletic Bilbao, the next nine in a win. His arrival freed Xavi and released Ronaldinho and by the end Barcelona had overtaken Madrid, beating them 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu. It wasn’t enough to win the league – Valencia took the title – but it was the resurrection, the start of their era. The virtuous cycle Laporta talked about had begun.
That era weighs heavily on this one, but according to Laporta it is also a lesson, a certain nostalgia that runs through his second era as president. As we enter the winter seven points behind Girona and Real Madrid, with Xavi describing parts of their final. performance of 2023 as “unacceptable”, his team “without soul”, they are looking for something similar: the Davids effect.
In early December, Barcelona defeated Atlético in the match that would define both their seasons and decide whether they were in the title race. They also reached the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time in three years and topped their group. But defeats against Girona and Antwerp plus a draw against Valencia brought back the fatalism and the cracks reappeared. “It’s like a funeral,” said Xavi, “I’m getting messages like my mother or father has died and I’m thinking, ‘Damn, what happened?’”
The coach had described it all as surreal and exaggerated; after all, this team is the defending champion. He complained that the media in Barcelona should not “drop out at the first turn” and pointedly noted that none of the journalists in the room had congratulated him on his progress in Europe, as if that was their duty. Barcelona’s objectives had been achieved so far, he stressed. Yet Xavi knows that the gap in the competition is significant, that qualification in Europe is a minimum in the budget, and that the pessimism is not just about the press. He is aware that criticism and tension come not only from the outside in, but also from within.
His claim that this is a team “under construction” was disturbing and the confusion over the team traveling to Antwerp also did not speak to internal cohesion or stability. Xavi left out Robert Lewandowski, Ronald Araújo and Ilkay Gündogan, after which the list was re-released with all three included. He then responded to reports that the new squad was the product of presidential prerogative by claiming it had been a ‘consensus’ decision by the club, only that the sporting director had placed the responsibility solely on himself.
For all he has said about debauchery, there have been few truly impressive performances; If anything, the results are better than the performance. After the match against Almería, which Barcelona won 3-2, and a late winner that scraped past the team that had not won all season, all those doubts, all the frustrations finally came to the surface. Xavi turned against his players, which usually does not end well. At halftime he told them they had to run like animals or they wouldn’t have a chance; this is not the side of 2010, he reminded them.
Something has to be done. From one to eleven there isn’t much wrong with the team, not when it comes to names, but attention inevitably turns to signings. If Xavi really wants to see something “unreal,” all he needs to do is see the cast of characters on the covers every morning.
However, a Davids is different. To begin with, it is a real ambition, which is expressed publicly. With the doubts about Oriol Romeu, who came from Girona this summer, and now that Gavi has suffered a cruciate ligament tear, an athletic, tough, defensive midfielder is needed, someone who does not need time to adapt; a player who is even more contagious to the group.
There is another element, which is immediately perceived as a defining characteristic of ‘a Davids’: the Dutchman was loaned out, came up with a solution and was gone again six months later, job done: two million euros in wages (of his total salary of €8 million) and that was it: no ties, no hidden costs, no mortgage on their future, which is already precarious enough. The crisis that forced Messi’s departure and prevented him from returning may not be as alarming as it was a few years ago, but it is certainly not resolved.
That’s why, when Laporta said: “The idea would be to have a midfielder who somehow compensates for Gavi’s absence”, there was an ‘if’. “If we can get fair play,” the president added. “It would be a loan until the end of the season, just like we did with Davids years ago.” Even then, Xavi said: “It’s very difficult. We are working with Deco and the president, but we have to see if it is possible with the salary issue.”
Barcelona’s salary cap, their first-team budget determined by the league’s financial fair play rules, is 270 million euros, compared to 727 million euros for Real Madrid. That would be difficult enough, but the amount they spend on their squad – albeit down from €676 million, and even though they have lost some of their highest earners such as Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Antoine Griezmann and Gérard Pique – is €492 million. Because they have exceeded their limit, competition rules allow them to spend only a third of what they can prove they have saved. For every euro spent, they must prove that three have been brought in.
This is where the (un)famous Palancas or levers, came in, and part of the reason they have clung so hard to Super League. Creative accounting has, in his own words, been crucial. Last year, Barcelona made a profit of 98 million euros, inflated by the sale of 727 million euros in non-sporting assets, which they profited from rather than weaken the team. But that was a stopgap measure that allowed them to rebuild a competitive squad and even sign Lewandowski, but that can’t be repeated every period. Meanwhile, Lewandowski, at 35, has not been the same man in front of goal this season.
Last summer, Barcelona spent 3.4 million euros on signings, all for Romeu. Iñigo Martínez signed for free, his salary subsequently shifted to stay within limits, as did Gündogan, which seemed a smart bit of business from a club that can still attract. João Félix and João Cancelo were loaned out at the end of the market, their arrival personally signed by board members. Barcelona would like to keep both, but that requires creative solutions. It is also an issue for another day, another problem that is put on the back burner.
Barcelona’s total debt is 1.2 billion euros. This year they budget an income of €859 million, predicting a profit of €11 million. To do that, they need to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Meanwhile, the move to Montjuic, while Camp Nou is rebuilt – home to just 17,000 socios exercised the option to keep their season tickets and the meeting with Atlético attracted 34,568 fans – costing them €78 million per season, according to vice-president Eduardo Romeu. Strengthening in that context is not easy, even when it comes to complying with the financial fair play rules that are applied. a priorior simply being able to afford it.
Barcelona have already signed Brazilian teenager Vitor Roque for €30 million plus €26 million in variables, with the initial €30 million spread over the seven years of his contract. He should have joined next summer, but his arrival has been brought forward to January – although Xavi was quick to say they couldn’t put pressure on him yet. Just acquiring him is a struggle: Barcelona must clear around €13 million in financial fair play margin to sign him. They planned to do that with the arrival of a €40 million payment from the investment fund Libero, which bought a 29.5% share in Barça Studios. However, that payment has not yet been made, forcing them to look for other investors.
“The squad is not as deep as we would like and unfortunately we lost Gavi,” Deco said. “We had already signed Vitor and we decided he had to come now. But we depend on fair play and it is difficult to arrange this. I don’t like creating false expectations.”
Barcelona is, Laporta said, “working on a series of operations; if they can be confirmed, we have a chance.” With Gavi’s injury lasting more than five months, league rules allow Barcelona to spend up to 80% of the value of his salary – but only until the end of the season. Whoever comes, if anyone comes, they have six months to turn Barcelona around. Just like Edgar Davids did.