This is either amazingly genius or utterly stupid. Probably both. In order to lower their overall annual wage bill, Barcelona have extended the contract of their unwanted defender Samuel Umtiti until June 2026.Why? Well, it was a financial fair-play thing. To be given the green light to register new players, total transfer and wages expenses for any year have to be under a certain amount. To calculate this amount, all players’ wages are considered with the given player’s contract length in mind. In other words, if a player receives a certain amount of money during his stay with the club, the burden will be lighter for a longer deal. To put it briefly, Umtiti agreed to a much lower yearly salary over a longer period. The extended length of the contract means that Barcelona finances have been given a respite – and the player will receive all the money he expected – albeit over a longer period.Umtiti has signed a deal until 2026 but won’t earn €1 more. Instead, what was owed between now and 2023 will be spread over length of new terms. Barça “publicly express gratitude to Umtiti for his willingness & the affection he has demonstrated towards the club”— Samuel Marsden (@samuelmarsden) January 10, 2022 There are still no indications that this new contract for the 28-year-old is actually to improve his chances of making the first team, but what is sure is that Umtiti would be one of the rare foreign players to have remained at Barcelona for a full decade – unless a suitor is found for the former Lyon defender in the meantime, of course.In a statement online, Barcelona added that the move will not be a financial burden on the club and opens up a financial space to register new signing Ferran Torres. “Samuel Umtiti has reached an agreement to extend the latter’s contract until 30 June 2026. The French defender is reducing a part of the salary that he was due to receive in the year and a half remaining on his contract. This contract extension operation does not entail any greater financial commitments for FC Barcelona with regard to the player. FC Barcelona will be able to increase its ‘financial fair play’ quota and thus register Ferran Torres with the Spanish Professional Football League.”The departure of Philippe Coutinho has also helped Barcelona breathe easier, knowing that it would make it a bit easier when financial revisors start looking at the club’s books. After too many years of spending money recklessly, the time has come to save every penny. Welcome to the real world, Barca!Done deal: Coutinho on his way to Villa in the hope of resurrectionThese are crazy times and Barcelona is an upside-down organization. They report record-high debts just days after splashing tens of millions of dollars on new players. They sign players and then try to sell them without giving them enough time to prove themselves. And now they’ve reached a whole new level – extending contracts of players they are desperate to get rid of. Welcome to the year 2022 – everything and anything can happen.
