As early as the end of December last year, Barca completed the transfer from Manchester City to sign Ferran Torres. However, due to insufficient salary space since then, Barca have been unable to complete the registration for the Spain international. Such a heavy reinforcement, if it is unable to put on the battle because of the problem of not being able to register, then the impact of one more day on Barca will be one more day. So we can imagine that after Ferran Torres made his debut, Barca's top brass must have racked their brains to find a way to register him, that is, to free up salary space as much as possible.
In the end, the efforts of Barca's top brass paid off. Earlier, Barça officially announced that by completing a salary cut extension with Umtiti, Barça has enhanced the "fair play" and will be able to complete the registration of Ferran Torres in La Liga.
The short-lived news quickly sparked a heated discussion among Barca fans, and the focus of the discussion was also different. But the most discussed thing is – why did Umtiti renew his contract with such a performance? And it continues to 2026, which is basically equivalent to a pension contract. Even if Umtiti is willing to cut wages, if the age is extended, the total amount of wages will definitely increase. In addition, in the next 4 years, Umtiti will always occupy barca's salary space, although the salary is reduced, but it also shackles barca's hands and feet to a certain extent.
Therefore, many Barça fans concluded that "Barça executives have done another fan operation.". But is that really the case? It can only be said that things are not as simple as imagined. On the surface, barca executives have made another unwise decision, but in fact they have a deeper consideration.
First of all, Ferran Torres has been joining for a while. Barca currently lack attacking power and the pressure to fight for 4 is high, and Xavi is eager for the Spanish attacker to register as soon as possible and attack the team. But in the middle of the season, It is difficult for Barca to free up salary space by clearing up redundant staff, and can only find a way to find a way from the players in the team.
Barca's top brass has previously freed up a lot of salary space by convincing players to cut their salaries. But the veterans in the team have basically been reduced in salary, and there is no reason to ask them to take another salary cut to let the club sign new signings. Therefore, the purpose of reducing the salary space can only be achieved in other ways. Convincing Umtiti to extend the length of his contract by cutting his salary can have a win-win effect.
For Umtiti, it is difficult to find a suitable home in his current state, and there must be a salary cut before the club is willing to consider it. Therefore, since they are all down, it is better to sell personal feelings to Barca. Although the salary has been reduced, the contract period has been extended, and there is another 3 years of protection, and the total amount of wages has risen, which is not a bad thing.
Secondly, for Barca executives, although Umtiti's contract life has been extended, the annual salary has been reduced, which also lays the foundation for future sales. Once Umtiti's condition picks up in the future and Barca want to sell, his annual salary will not be too much of an obstacle.
Therefore, a salary cut to renew the contract at the same time allowed Barca to get 2 positives. Not only did he register Felan Torres, but he also laid the groundwork for the future sale of Umtiti, an operation by the Barca hierarchy that was not only not a mystery operation, but a shrewd technique. Barca are likely to chase Haaland this summer, and if the signing is completed, this time it will need more salary space. By then, Umtiti, whose salary has already been reduced, will surely be Barca's preferred clean-up target.