The poor financial health of the club has forced FC Barcelona to resort to some unconventional methods to ensure they can retain a competitive team. The Catalans have already used the well-known economic levers to sign some of their players, which would have been an unthinkable move some years ago.
Furthermore, after Gavi’s long-term injury last season, the Blaugranes used his salary space to bring and register Vitor Roque to get the maximum advantage of the unfortunate situation that they were facing.
Yesterday, Barcelona registered Inigo Martinez, and as Mundo Deportivo has reported, they once again had to repeat this formula. This time, the injury suffered by Ronald Araujo was used by the Catalans to register the former Athletic Club defender using the same regulations that allowed them to register Roque.
With Araujo out with injury, Kounde likely to play at the right flank, and Eric Garcia having returned from the Olympic Games only a few days ago, Flick is having a shortage of defenders for the league opener against Valencia tonight. Thus, the registration of Inigo Martinez was one of the requests that the German tactician had made from the club.
Araujo suffered an injury while playing in the 2024 Copa America with Uruguay. He had to undergo surgery for his hamstring issue, and he is expected to miss at least four months of action as he makes his recovery.
Thus, for the second time in the last eight months, Barcelona are going to use Article 77 of the Regulations for the Preparation of Budgets, which allows clubs to register a player instead of one who has suffered an injury which will keep him out of action for at least four months. The new registration has to come within 30 days of the injury suffered by the previously registered player.
