Barcelona will complete their pre-season schedule tonight when they face Premier League club Tottenham in the Joan Gamper Trophy. As soon as the game ends, all eyes will focus on Sunday’s La Liga clash with Getafe, and while we focus on potential new players coming into the club like Bernardo Silva and Joao Cancelo, registering the players who are already here is the important task that needs ticking off this week.
As of this morning, Barca has just 13 players registered for the new La Liga season.
That number includes Ousmane Dembele and Franck Kessie, both of whom are expected to depart the club this week, leaving just 11 players officially registered.
Here are the 13 players registered to play for Barcelona as things stand.
Goalkeeper (1): Marc-André ter Stegen
Defenders (3): Andreas Christensen, Eric García, Jules Koundé
Midfielders (5): Gavi, Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, Ferran Torres, Franck Kessie
Forwards (4): Ousmane Dembele, Robert Lewandowski, Ansu Fati, Raphinha
Sales & Investment are needed this week to ensure full registration
Barcelona are relying on two things happening this week to ensure they can register all their players ahead of the game on Sunday.
They need to complete some sales with Dembele and Kessie the closest to the exit door, followed by defenders Clement Lenglet and Sergino Dest.
They also need to complete the €65 million investment agreement with a German fund for the purchase of 16% of Barca Studios, which is being re-sold.
If either of these pillars falls down, Barca will be forced to pick and choose the players they’re able to register.
One of the priorities will be getting İlkay Gündoğan registered. Not just from a footballing perspective, but also due to a rather interesting clause in his contract.
If Barca has not registered Gündoğan by Sunday, then the German has the option to leave the club on a free transfer, although nobody expects that to happen, it’s a concern.