FC Barcelona stands out amongst notable clubs for its enduring financial challenges. The Catalan club has been losing big on the transfer market lately, from an overarching debt to recurring financial fair play breaches. Notably, Lionel Messi could have perhaps ended his career in Camp Nou. He had an offer on the table to do so.

However, Joan Laporta and Co. would have violated financial fair play norms if they re-signed the Argentine talisman and bid him farewell the hard way. The same demon haunts the 5x Champions League winners, as uncertainty looms over captain Sergi Roberto’s future three years later.

Sergi Roberto’s contract with FCB expired on June 30th. Yet, Roberto is keen on renewing his contract and prolonging his time at Camp Nou. So is FC Barcelona. However, Laporta’s side could keep Roberto only if they meet La Liga’s financial fair play norms. Barcelona’s renewal offer for the Spanish midfielder is valid till August 10, leaving the Catalan giants little time to fix their finances. Anyhow, in a major upset for Barca fans, Sergi Roberto has reportedly ‘made peace’ with the fact that he might leave the Blaugrana this summer.

Besides Roberto’s uncertain future, Barcelona could also lose star players such as Joao Cancelo, Joao Felix, and Marcos Alonso this summer. Both Cancelo and Felix reportedly want to extend their stay in the Catalan club. But the same FFP regulation might hinder Hansi Flick’s side from signing these Portuguese heavyweights.

Since the FFP regulations are a recurring villain in Barcelona’s story, let’s explore the club’s spending limit for the current season. Then what about the infamous 2021 season that saw Messi’s exit? We have you covered.

How much can Barcelona spend this summer and what triggered Messi’s exit in 2021?

When free agency loomed over Lionel Messi’s Barcelona stint, the club took a loan from Goldman Sachs to meet player salaries and simultaneously posted a loss of up to $490 million. Subsequently, La Liga cut Barcelona’s spending limit to under $100 million in the 2021/22 season. Hence, the club found it difficult to offer Messi a new contract and also pay salaries, and buy new players, forcing the Argentine to walk out of the Camp Nou in tears.

Now, Barcelona’s spending limit has improved compared to the 2021-22 season. They are eligible to spend $206 million. However, this is substantially less than the limit of bitter rivals Real Madrid and Barca also witnessed a drop from last season’s cap of $272 million. How far will the Blaugrana go with the $206 million?

They dream of keeping Roberto, Cancelo, and Felix in the club. They eye Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez this summer. A spending cap north of $200 million won’t suffice for the club, and hence the current Barca captain’s future remains uncertain for the time being.