Football News: Will Barcelona's bet on Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski pay off?

They spent around £100m on Leeds United's Raphinha and Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski. In addition, they are currently eyeing Sevilla's Jules Kounde and Manchester City's Bernardo Silva. Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann tagged them as the only club that doesn't have money but can buy any player. However, that is not entirely based on truth. 

Joan Laporta calls the shots

On 16 June, Barcelona officials voted in favour of Joan Laporta to execute some exceptional measures, now known as economic 'levers', to help the club recover financially. The first lever required the club to sell 10% of its domestic television rights to the US investment fund Sixth Street over the next 25 years in exchange for immediate payment of £200million. They also confirmed that they sold a further 15% of those rights which earned them an extra £300million. There has also been a proposition to sell 49.9% of the club's merchandising operation soon. These levers can collectively acquire more than £600million.

Besides, Robert Lewandowski walked into Barcelona for the upcoming edition after scoring 50 goals in 46 games last season. Despite the damage made by former president Josep Maria Bartomeu, Laporta should have focused on rebuilding the club's infrastructure. However, he does not want to be the man playing solid foundations for the club's future, but he wants to be known for restoring their lost glory. After scoring one Spanish Cup title in three years, he is impatient to win more silverware. So Laporta's levers might resolve their issue and generate more revenue through increased prize money and TV rights besides other commercial opportunities. 

Will the players impress or disappoint?

Despite their ability to sack top-notch players, it is not known whether Raphinha will maintain his form or if 34-year-old Lewandowski will manage to evade age-related issues. Fans also worry about Ousmane Dembele's susceptibility to injury and manager Xavi's capacity to take care of the defence. Laporta's levers are a one-time shot at reviving the club's lost form, which means it cannot become an annual occurrence, and the players are now under immense pressure. 

Due to such inevitable circumstances, Barcelona is expected to approach the summer transfer with more efficiency by offloading unwanted players, including Memphis Depay, Martin Braithwaite, Miralem Pjanic and Samuel Umtiti. Secondly, Frenkie de Jong's possible departure could take the burden off their shoulders. Pedri and Gavi's brilliance does not leave much room for De Jong so that he could face the door. However, they still have to settle on an agreement over the wages deferred by the Dutchman in the last few years, which are now due. 

In addition, De Jong's reluctance to shift to a club outside the Champions League has also sabotaged his proposed move to Manchester United, which will determine whether Barca can aim to sack Silva. Hence, if their strategy is effective, Barcelona's decline would come to an end, and Laporta's name would be uttered with respect, but the gamble could also fail and push the team further into the abyss. 

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