La Liga teams are reporting a problem. Three days before the start of the competition, only 39 reinforcements out of 90 are registered

La Liga teams are dealing with a big problem. Just a few days before the start of the competition, only 39 reinforcements out of 90 are registered. Some players will probably have to watch the start of the competition only in the stands.

“It’s easy to buy reinforcements, it’s harder to register players,” an unnamed sports director at a La Liga club told MARCA newspaper. And he is absolutely right.

La Liga clubs have welcomed 90 reinforcements this summer. But only 39 of them have been registered and can therefore play in the first round this weekend.

Why can’t teams register players? La Liga has a salary cap and boss Javier Tebas is very careful to ensure that the rules of financial fair-play are followed.

The club cannot spend more than it collects. Tebas aims to keep clubs debt-free, plus the state has stopped helping through tax breaks, hence the drastic measures.

“To put it simply, for a player to earn €10 million net in La Liga, his gross wage must be €18.9 million. In Germany it is 17.2 million, in the UK 16.2 million, in France 14.2 million and in Italy almost exactly 14 million euros,” Tebas explained at the press conference.

So registering reinforcements is a real tricky business. Barcelona are currently the worst off, with only 11 A-team players registered on the official La Liga website, plus Ousmane Dembélé and Franck Kessié, who have one foot out the door.

However, neither Sevilla, Betis, Real Sociedad, Celta Vigo or Deportivo Alavés have registered any reinforcements yet. Real Madrid stand out a little from the league, having spent half (€124m) of the total amount spent in La Liga (€252m) in the summer transfer window, but they have no problem registering.

Immediately after his arrival, he registered all the reinforcements – Jude Bellingham, Fran García, Brahim Díaz, Arda Güller and Joselu. Villarreal is also financially stable, having registered Denis, Terrats, Gabbia, Sorloth and Comesaña.

Source: MARCA, La Liga