Last season, Barcelona was able to register Roko due to the special emergency injury rule in La Liga, and before this season has even started, Barcelona is already considering using this rule again to free up space for new signings.
La Liga stipulates that if a player is injured and needs to be out for more than four months, the club can use 80% of the player’s salary space for another player. Araujo was injured while playing for Uruguay in the Copa America, and he underwent surgery in Finland this week. It is estimated that he will be out for 4-5 months. Barcelona is now considering using his salary space to register another player.
In fact, Barcelona had hoped to sell Araujo during the summer transfer window to bring in another player. As reported by Mundo Deportivo, Manchester United had made a high offer for Araujo, and Barcelona did not even offer Araujo contract renewal negotiations. However, with Araujo’s injury, all potential deals were canceled. Now, Barcelona has to consider offering him a new contract because they do not want him to leave as a free agent next season.
The new player is likely to be Iñigo Martínez, who is currently unregistered but has one year left on his contract. However, the emergency injury rule is not a loophole; the salary space freed up this season must be added to the wage bill for the following season.