Barcelona are currently performing at a level not witnessed before under Hansi Flick.
And possibly only very few times in their history.
This is certainly the club’s best start to a La Liga season since they were founded in 1899, having won all seven games with 31 goals scored.
They are six points clear of rivals Real Madrid already, and five clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid.
But the club also have that familiar issue of the wage bill to worry about again.
Barcelona’s spending on the squad has increased as the club have renewed key players and sought to retain a young side that has dominated Spanish football since the last two seasons.
Track Barcelona’s season here.
Sporting director Deco confirmed at the club’s General Assembly on Saturday that Raphinha, Xavi Espart and Marc Bernal are due to sign new contracts on improved terms. Lamine Yamal, Frenkie de Jong, Eric Garcia and Andreas Christensen have all also signed new contracts recently.
Indeed, Barcelona are expected to spend around €636m on salaries this season.
Can Barcelona afford it?
Barcelona finally returned to the 1:1 rule in La Liga this summer, which means that for every €1 they save or earn, they can now spend €1 on player registrations and salaries.
It gives Deco much room to strengthen the squad and agree new contracts.
The club’s vice-president for economic affairs, Ferran Olivé, also said that although the wage bill is as high as it was during their peak problem period six years ago, the club are much better off now because it is currently a much smaller share of revenue.
“We’ll have more or less the same wage bill as in 2019-20, but back then it represented 74% of revenue and now it would be 53%,” Olivé said.
“There is an increase in sporting salaries, but it’s in line with revenue,” Olivé said. “We have a young team and we need to increase salaries through renewals. We have to keep the players.”
It would seem that sustaining the wage bill is dependent on maintaining the increased revenue.
The dribble before the goal 🤤#LaLigaHighlights pic.twitter.com/r0XmSbZHp1
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) September 23, 2026
The Camp Nou, which is currently under construction, will play a significant part in that. Barcelona spent the past two years playing their home games mostly at the Olympic Stadium in Montjuic, but they had to move back to an unfinished Camp Nou in November last year because the finances were punishing.
Montjuic is a 55,000-capacity old athletic stadium. By moving back to Camp Nou, even at a limited 45,000 capacity, Barcelona could take advantage of their home ground’s VIP boxes and premium hospitality seating and bring in significant revenue, which largely helped fund their signings in the summer.
There is a bit of a difficult period ahead, though. Barcelona will have to leave the Camp Nou again at the end of this season and return to the Olympic Stadium.
There is still more work to be done at the stadium and it is projected to be finished only by the start of 2028. The move is likely to reduce the club’s revenue. They will also have to pay a figure in the region of €8m to use the Olympic Stadium.
Given the reduced revenue on the horizon, the wage bill is something the club will need to keep a close eye on.
