Georginio Wijnaldum's sensational move to Barcelona has been cast in uncertainty after the Spanish club were hit with a ban by La Liga.
New Barca manager Ronald Koeman has identified the 29-year-old Dutch midfielder as a top target alongside Lyon star Memphis Depay.
But Barcelona are amongst the clubs to have been deeply affected by the coronavirus pandemic on their finances.
According to The Daily Mirror, the club are carrying an astonishing £510m-a-year wage bill and will need to offload players before they can buy Depay or Wijnaldum.
The newspaper reports that Barcelona would also have to pay the same amount as the transfer fee to the Spanish government due to the financial aid received during the pandemic.
La Liga has enforced strict regulations on all top-flight Spanish clubs as they are only allowed to spend on transfers and staff based on their financials from the past five years.
Joris Evers, who is director of communications for La Liga, explained: "We have a financial system, which goes beyond UEFA's Financial Fair Play.
"At UEFA they look at figures when a season is finished, we set the standards before the season starts.
"If Barcelona try to do a deal behind the scenes, our analysts will notice this immediately.
"The clubs agreed on this system as a reaction on a period when they were struggling to pay the wages of the players, because they'd overspent time and time again. Nobody wants to go back to that situation.''
The coronavirus pandemic has already cost Barcelona a staggering £300m in only the space of six months.
source https://www.sportbible.com/football/news-barcelonas-plans-to-sign-georginio-wijnaldum-have-been-hit-with-a-ban-20200920
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