Have the Atlético Madrid accountants fallen on their heads? How could they forget this detail – which is much more than that – during the negotiations with Axel Witsel? Difficult to understand but the overwhelming observation jumps today in the face of the Colchoneros: in the current state of things, the Liégeois will not be able to sign the contract which awaited him (1 year + 1 year in option).
The fault of financial fair play imposed by La Liga. Or rather the inability of Atlético to respect this rule. Like 13 other Spanish professional clubs, the Rojiblancos have a wage bill that exceeds the imposed ceiling.
This limit is calculated on the basis of income (from TV rights, , ticketing, etc.), structural expenses and the repayment of the debt expected throughout the season. For Atlético, an amount of around €165 million is planned, but the club would exceed this sum by almost €100 million, according to COPE’s Great Match.
Consequence: Axel Witsel’s salary cannot accumulate. And Yannick Carrasco’s club has no choice but to sell players to get into the nails. The main target would be Antoine Griezmann who alone takes 33 million € net annual salary.
One solution would be to send him back to Barcelona, where he is actually on loan for another season. A possibility which is already proving to be contractually complicated according to the Spanish media which revealed these problems. Especially since the club should sell other elements to get closer to its salary cap.
Witsel, who will officially find himself without a club on July 1 after leaving Borussia Dortmund, therefore finds himself in total limbo when he thought everything was settled. No doubt his agent’s phone will heat up in the coming days. The other interested clubs, including Olympique de Marseille, will certainly take advantage of this total imbroglio to convince the Devil with real guarantees.