Barcelona outline reasons for €7m guarantee to register players

Xavi O'Callaghan, the club's director of professional sports, addressed the situation in a press conference on Monday, shedding light on the complex salary cap rules that prompted the measure.
According to O'Callaghan, the guarantee was necessary to cover a €7 million shortfall in the budget for non-registrable staff.
La Liga defines this category as including the club's other professional sections, first-team coaching staff - excluding Hansi Flick and his assistant, La Masia, and administrative personnel – all of whom must fit within the league's financial limits. Barcelona had fallen short in this regard.
The discrepancy, O'Callaghan explained, arose because bonuses awarded to non-registrable first-team staff for last season's trophies were not fully accounted for, prompting La Liga to demand a guarantee to ensure compliance with the overall salary cap.
"La Liga required a guarantee to maintain the total salary mass, and the board has fulfilled this requirement," he said.
He added that the guarantee functions as a form of collateral, noting that even if the club had matched its budget exactly, the measure would still have been required due to excesses in non-registrable personnel costs.
O'Callaghan also defended the decision, stressing that it was not a result of uncontrolled spending. He cited Barcelona's basketball section as an example of compliance with its budget.
"The board is putting its own assets on the line to protect the club's competitiveness, and that should be recognised," he said.
While critical of La Liga's financial oversight system, O'Callaghan acknowledged that the club must work within existing rules. "Ideally, each team would manage its own Financial Fair Play independently, but we must operate under the current regulations," he concluded.