Barcelona denies Deco departure rumours after transfer window woes

Barcelona have responded to Spanish media reports suggesting sporting director Deco is considering leaving the club after a difficult summer transfer window.

Barca signed Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor this summer, but their efforts to recruit a left winger, a defensive midfielder and a defender have been thwarted by their ongoing financial difficulties.

Spanish sports newspaper Diario Sport reported on Sunday that the problems have led Deco, who only took over last year, to consider leaving the club.

“We categorically deny the news that appeared on September 1 in Diario Sport, questioning the continuity of our sporting director,” Barça said in a statement.

“In response to the article titled ‘Disappointed Deco ponders his future’, the club would like to state that it could not be happier with the work Deco has done and to refute this article which appeared at the end of the transfer window.”

Deco also referred to the club’s statement when contacted for comment by ESPN.

The former Portugal international left his job as an agent last year to become Barca’s sporting director, initially working alongside Mateu Alemany and then on his own when Alemany left the club last September.

However, his efforts were hampered by the club’s difficult financial situation.

While Barca remains above its annual spending limit – all clubs in Spain are subject to a cap that is roughly determined by the difference between a team’s revenue minus non-sporting expenses and debt repayments – it can only spend a percentage of what it saves on wages, collects in transfer fees or generates through new revenue streams.

Ahead of the summer, LaLiga revealed that Barca’s salary cap was just over €200 million ($221 million), with sources telling ESPN that The Blaugrana The team’s costs were around 400 million euros.

Despite this, they still managed to sign Olmo from RB Leipzig for €55m, although financial restrictions forced him to miss the first two games of the season as the wait to process his registration dragged on.

Barca finally registered Olmo last week, taking advantage of a rule that allows the club to exceed its limit in the event a player is sidelined with long-term injury – in this case Andreas Christensen.

Young striker Pau Victor also arrived from Girona this summer for €2.5m, but sources have told ESPN that Barca would have liked to bring in more players.

They considered bringing in Federico Chiesa, who eventually joined Liverpool, and missed out on Liverpool’s Stefan Bajcetic after making a late bid to sign the Spain midfielder when Marc Bernal ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament.

Joao Cancelo was another target who went elsewhere, with the full-back signing for Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal, while Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Jonathan Tah was also linked.

Barca president Joan Laporta is due to speak at a press conference on Tuesday to discuss the club’s transfer window activities.