Barcelona struggling to register attacker due to miscalculation of salary limit: Reports
Barcelona are reportedly struggling to register their new attacker Victor Roque after miscalculating their salary limit.
Amid their well-documented financial struggles, the La Liga giants snapped up the Athletico Paranaense man for €30 million. Initially, Roque was set to arrive at the Camp Nou in the summer, but his arrival was brought forward to January.
Meant to serve as a back-up to Robert Lewandowski or the injured Gavi, Roque might have to wait to get registered as a Barca player. With Gavi suffering a season-ending injury late last year, his wages were freed up, potentially allowing Barca to register Roque in January.
Barca are allowed to use 80% of Gavi's wages to register a replacement, but as per Jijantes (via Football Espana), considering Roque's transfer fee, the freed-up amount is not enough to register the Brazilian.
The aforementioned report says that with the registration rules remaining the same, Barca might have made a miscalculation on their part to find themselves struggling to register Roque.
Nevertheless, Xavi's side are confident of having the Brazilian available for the Las Palmas La Liga game on Thursday (January 4).
How have Barcelona fared this season?
Barcelona have had a stuttering start to the season. The defending La Liga champions are fourth, seven points behind the leading pair of Real Madrid and Girona (both 45 points) after 18 games.
Xavi's side have reached their first UEFA Champions League knockouts in three years. But they did so unconvincingly. A 3-2 defeat at previously winless Royal Antwerp on matchday six meant that they won the group ahead of Porto on superior head-to-head record.
Just before the midseason break, Barca stuttered to a 3-2 home win over Almeria in La Liga. It was only their second win in five games across competitions, having not kept a clean sheet in four games.
Following their clash with Las Palmas in midweek, Barca travel to UD Barbastro for their Copa del Rey opener three days later. They meet Osasuna in the Spanish Super Cup semifinals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on January 11.