With the summer transfer window coming to an end, Sid Lowe says Barcelona will probably have to overpay to get Neymar to Camp Nou.
Barcelona have announced record revenue for the sixth season running with the club closing their accounts for the 2018-19 season with a recorded income of €990 million ($1.1 billion).
It's the second season running in which the Spanish champions have broken the billion-dollar mark. They became the first sports team to ever pass the milestone last year when they brought in €914m ($1.019 billion).
However, the club's spending was also up, with expenses hitting €973m ($1.085 billion). A pre-tax operating profit of €17m ($19m) is down on the €20m ($22m) they posted last season.
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"The club has achieved its highest revenue ever and it's important to highlight that the income is €30m more than the budgeted figure of €960m," Barcelona said in a statement.
"It is in line with the club's strategic plan to generate an annual turnover of €1,000m by 2021."
Barca's revenue continues to rise due to a number of factors. An improved television deal domestically and a run to the Champions League semifinal -- they hadn't progressed beyond the last eight since 2015 -- enabled them to bring in more through broadcasting rights.
Marketing and advertising keeps on growing, too. Last season was the second year of a four-year, €220 million deal with shirt sponsors Rakuten, while the club also signed a new three-year sponsorship agreement with Turkish electronics company Beko worth around €57 million.
However, a large chunk of the club's income has become increasingly reliant on sales. Their earnings in 2017-18 were massively boosted by Neymar's world record €222m move to Paris Saint-Germain, while the latest numbers include the sales of the likes of Paulinho, Yerry Mina and Lucas Digne for more than €100m.
Deloitte's Money League, though, does not factor in player sales and Barca only placed second behind Real Madrid in revenue in the 2017-18 season.
Madrid, who had just won their third successive Champions League crown, topped Deloitte's table with €750.9m, while Barcelona, excluding outgoing players, brought in €690.4m, ahead of Manchester United (€666m) in third.
But while Barca continue to post record revenue, the fact they're now heavily dependent on player sales means they do not have unlimited funds in the transfer market. They have managed to spend a total of €195m on Frenkie de Jong and Antoine Griezmann this summer, although president Josep Maria Bartomeu confirmed a €35m loan was needed to complete the Griezmann deal.
They will continue to have to look to sell smartly as the wage bill and player amortisation costs continue to rise, accounting for over half of their revenue.
Detailed figures are not yet available for the 2018-19 season, but the previous season -- a year in which Lionel Messi renewed his contract -- saw wages up a staggering €151m to €529m, including all of the club's sports teams, while player "amortisation and impairment" rose €52m.
Source: espn.co.uk