As has been the case for the last few years, FC Barcelona once again have to look for a new club for Clement Lenglet in this summer transfer window. The Frenchman has returned to the Catalan club after spending the last season on loan at Aston Villa, but it is highly unlikely that he will remain in Flick’s team for this season.
A breakthrough in this operation for Barcelona was reported yesterday as Fabrizio Romano claimed that the French defender is going to join Atletico Madrid on loan, while also extending his contract with the Blaugrana club by one year.
While this move has not officially been announced yet, Mundo Deportivo has provided an outline of how this will impact the Catalan club’s finances and fair play margin.
Without this contract extension, Lenglet would have been receiving €16 million gross from Barcelona per season, which turns out to be €8 million net. However, with this extension, the €32 million that the Blaugranes had to pay him will be spread over three years, and thus, he will now earn €10.6 million gross – €5.3 million net – per season.
Thus, Barcelona have already reduced €6 million from their wage bill for the season by extending Lenglet’s contract for another year. Furthermore, they can now amortise his costs in the upcoming four years, instead of the two years that were initially planned.
A significant portion of the cost of his wages will also be saved with Lenglet’s loan to Atletico Madrid. The Mattress Makers are expected to take up a large portion of the defender’s salary, and as he has already been registered as a Barcelona player with La Liga, this will positively impact Barcelona’s FFP margin.
The FFP margin is 60% of the cost of a player’s wages and amortisation. As Lenglet’s yearly wage is now €10.6 million, €6.4 million would have been saved if Atletico Madrid had paid the entire wages of the defender. But as Atletico are expected to take on only a part of the wages, this amount will be determined by the final agreement between the three parties.
This saving can go even higher if Lenglet’s salary after the extension gets greater than 5% of the total squad’s wages. In this case, Barcelona will save 70% of the cost of his wages and amortisation in case of his loan.
The final agreement between Lenglet, Barcelona, and Atletico remains to be arrived, but what is clear for now is that the Catalans have significantly eased their financial problems with this move. This is a significant step forward towards the club’s aim of returning to the 1:1 rule and perhaps getting another player this summer.
