Joan Garcia set for Barca debut, Rashford has to wait

Barcelona can now officially count on Joan García in the LaLiga opener against Mallorca after the LaLiga Medical Commission certified Marc-André ter Stegen’s long-term injury. This clearance marks the first registration for the club in the current window. However, several key signings, including Marcus Rashford, Wojciech Szczęsny, and Gerard Martín, are still waiting for approval.

While Rashford, Szczęsny, and Martín are urgent priorities, other arrivals such as Bardghji, Bernal, and potentially Héctor Fort can be registered with the reserve team and are therefore less pressing.

The Roadmap: Return to the 1:1 Rule

Barcelona’s main strategy for completing registrations is to return to LaLiga’s 1:1 spending rule, which allows clubs to use every euro earned to register new players. The key lies in the long-delayed approval of the VIP boxes at Spotify Camp Nou. Once these are validated by LaLiga, the club will have the green light to register all pending players at once.

VIP Box Delay Causing Frustration

The issue has been ongoing since January, when LaLiga excluded Barcelona from the 1:1 rule because the boxes were incomplete. The club had aimed to resolve the matter by May, but mid-August has arrived with no decision. While the Sporting Directorate remains optimistic, doubts are growing with each passing day.

Backup Plan: €7 Million Board Guarantee

If LaLiga does not validate the VIP boxes before the transfer window closes, Joan Laporta has already activated Plan B, a collective guarantee from the board worth €7 million. This amount would create enough salary cap space to register the remaining players without 1:1 rule access.

Squad Reshaping to Free Salary Space

Sporting Director Deco has been offloading players to create room in the wage bill. Departures of Clément Lenglet and Ansu Fati have freed millions, and further exits ,including Oriol Romeu, Iñaki Peña, and Héctor Fort, are expected.