BARCELONA are facing the threat of Uefa sanctions after breaching financial rules for a second year running, reports claim.
It comes after the Spanish giants lost an appeal in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over a £420,000 fine imposed by Uefa for wrongly reporting profits in October.
The CAS ruling at the time warned the club would face “harsher” punishments if they failed to comply with rules again.
And according to The Times, they have been found wanting again under Uefa rules, and the La Liga champions are now due to be hit with severe sanctions.
These could include a reduced limit on the number of players they can register for next season’s Champions League or even a points deduction in the league phase.
English sides Chelsea and Aston Villa are also understood to have breached Uefa rules.
However, because they are first-time offenders, they will be slapped with financial penalties only.
Both have been in talks with the Uefa’s Club Financial Control Board (CFCB) over a financial settlement.
The governing body of European football are due to confirm the sanctions imposed on each team later this month.
Barcelona have tried a number of unorthodox ways to help them climb free of financial ruin.
In 2022, they sold 10 per cent of their broadcasting revenue over the next 25 years for £225million (€267million).
They wanted to claim this as “other operating income” on the books, which would have counted towards their FFP calculations.
However, Uefa insisted it must come under “profits on disposal of intangible assets” which do not count towards FFP.
Barcelona then sold another 15 per cent of their broadcast rights for £337m (€400m).
But the CAS ruling means it cannot be classed as operating income, which is said to have been the ultimate cause of their latest breach.
Barca made the Champions League semi-finals this year, losing to beaten finalists Inter Milan.
Chelsea’s breach comes down to Uefa not counting the club’s world record £220m sale of the women’s team to a sister company on their books.
This is in contrast to Premier League financial rules which do allow it.
Uefa financial rules state clubs can make a maximum loss of £170m (€200million) over three years.
Clubs also cannot spend more than 80 per cent of their UEFA-allowed revenue.
But this will reduce further to 70 per cent next season.
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