Barcelona set aside 50m euros for new players

Spanish champions Barcelona, who secured a bank loan of 155 million euros this week to solve cash-flow problems, have set aside 50 million euros to spend on new players, the club said on Thursday.

“The club has approximately 50 million euros net to spend on new players each season,” Barcelona said in a statement, after vice-president for finance Javier Faus gave a news conference to provide details about the loan.

Barcelona signed striker David Villa for 40 million euros in May but have parted ways since the end of the season with Ivory Coast defender Yaya Toure, French striker Thierry Henry and Ukrainian defender Dmitryo Chygrynskiy.

Toure joined Manchester City in a deal worth 30 million euros, Chygrynskiy returned to Ukrainian powerhouses Shakhtar Donetsk in a deal worth 15 million euros, while Henry joined the New York Red Bulls for a yet to be disclosed fee.

“In the case of this season, buying David Villa combined with the sales of Yaya Toure and Dmytro Chygrynskiy balance themselves out,” the statement said.

Barcelona hope to bring Arsenal captain and Spanish international Cesc Fabregas back to the club but so far their overtures have been rejected.

Last week Barcelona’s new president Sandro Rosell insisted that his side would not break the bank to land Fabregas.

“We won’t pay an unjustified sum. We won’t lose our heads over this business,” said he said.