'Broke' Barcelona mocked after splurging on €120m double signing

Football Club Barcelona are baffling their rivals with their summer transfer activity despite their ongoing financial struggles. The Catalan club were in debt and were relying on smart free transfers to bolster the squad, but this summer they have returned to their old splurging ways.

The Spanish club's first major signing of the summer was Raphinha from Leeds United. The Brazilian arrived at the Camp Nou in a deal worth €65 million, which was an eye opener after Barcelona were written off owing to their crippling debt and over-inflated wage bill.

Barcelona announced the arrival of Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich on Sunday, in a deal worth €55 million. The club's spending rocketed to €120 million for just two players, who have also been joined by free transfers Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie.

Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann was the first to say out loud what many are thinking, as he mocked the Catalan giants. The German feels Barcelona is the only club in Europe that can sign players after claiming to have "no money".

"They got a lot of new players, not only Robert," Nagelsmann said, as quoted by Goal. "I don't know how to be honest, it's the only club in the world that can buy players without money. It's kind of weird and crazy."

FC Barcelona are not stopping their spending spree, with Sevilla defender Jules Kounde next on the wanted list. The Andalusian club is demanding €60 million for the France international, which the Catalans are hoping to drive down by offering players in exchange.

Even transfer expert Fabrizio Romano was at a loss for words to explain the sudden injection of funds. Of course, Barcelona did sell part of their future TV rights to raise around €300 million, but that was thought to be used to mainly service the club's €1 billion debt.

"I'll be honest, I don't know. People in football don't know, the agents don't know...Nobody knows how they can manage so much money right now," Romano said, when asked about Barcelona funding the Raphinha move.

FC Barcelona are aware that they need to trim the squad in order to balance the club's wage bill. The Catalans have been desperately trying to offload Frenkie de Jong, but despite agreeing a €75 million fee with Manchester United, the player has no intention of leaving the Camp Nou just yet.