July 13, (THEWILL) – After pulling the “second lever” of their refinancing plans, Barcelona is ready to complete the signings of Raphinha and Ousmane Dembele.
Earlier last summer, Barca sold a portion of their future TV rights to US investment group, Sixth Street, as THEWILL reported. Now, the same company is once more supplying the funding in exchange for additional media rights in what club president, Joan Laporta, dubbed the “second lever”, to raise close to £280 million in the following week.
While the second windfall will allow them to move through with their significant summer transfer plans, the initial trench of cash from Sixth Street allowed them to pay off many of their bills and balance their accounts. With these funds, Xavi Hernandez will be able to bring in Raphinha, while Dembele will sign a new contract ahead of their upcoming preseason tour of America, which starts this weekend.
The deals are reportedly finalised and confirmation is imminent after medicals. Barca’s financial situation improved enough on Tuesday, that Leeds were able to finalise the terms of the agreement, which included the Catalan club paying Raphinha’s transfer fee in three instalments.
Raphinha has also been allowed permission to fly to Catalonia after remaining in England, while the Leeds team took a flight to Australia for their preseason tour.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
