FC Barcelona can't sign players

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Comeback at the age of 38: Dani Alves is back in Barcelona

Photo: ALBERT GEA / Reuters

The financially troubled FC Barcelona can currently no longer sign any new players due to the league's salary cap after the signing of coach Xavi.

Football director Mateu Alemany said that only if players from the traditional club were to move to other clubs would there be financial leeway for newcomers.

"It's just that we can still register Xavi and his coaching staff, but then there's nothing left," said Alemany at the presentation of right-back Dani Alves in Barcelona.

The previously without a club Alves had returned to his previous club at the age of 38, but for a - according to media reports - relatively low salary.

Since the end of the summer transfer window on August 31, the Catalans, who were also in crisis in terms of sport, had to cope with salary increases for Ansu Fati and Pedri González as well as the compensation for coach Ronald Koeman and his team, who was prematurely dismissed in October, wrote the Spanish newspaper "Mundo Deportivo" .

However, Alemany had emphasized that there were still one and a half months until the winter transfer window opened on January 1 and that various options were being worked on.

"We'll see again on January 1st," he said without giving any details.

Mundo Deportivo reported that Xavi was interested in Raheem Sterling from Manchester City.

sak / dpa