Barcelona have projected a wage bill of €633 million for this season, which – along with profits of just €11 million, leaves no room in the budget for a major outlay on Paul Pogba, given the likely €150 million transfer fee and major salary contract.

The Catalan club announced a summary of their financial results for the 2017-2018 year on Tuesday, eager to celebrate their revenue of €916 million which they claim to be the largest ever for a sports club. Certainly it is bigger than the Real Madrid turnover of €750 million for the corresponding period which was announced by their rivals last week although the warning signs for Barcelona were elsewhere.

The wage bill climbed to €639 million despite the club having predicted in last season’s accounts that it would be just €588 million for this period. The club were boosted by the €222 million sale of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of last year, a transfer they bitterly opposed at the time, which nonetheless kept their wages to revenue ratio at 70 per cent. Without that sale included in the results the wages to revenue ratio would have stood at 89.5 per cent.

Publically, Neymar’s sale was resisted by Barcelona’s board. Nevertheless, these accounts show that the record fee paid has been a vital lifeline for the club, and it remains to be seen how it will stay in profit next summer with the club not ruling out further sales.

The Neymar sale can reasonably be considered an extraordinary item with no further big names to sell, unless the club were prepared to part with the jewel in its crown, Lionel Messi. The Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu has long said that selling Messi is simply not up for discussion.

The Catalan giants' most expensive jewel: Lionel Messi is not for sale credit: Getty Images

The Telegraph reported last week that Pogba is unhappy at United, and asked before the start of the season to leave. Even if United were prepared to sell, they would do so at a price that was around the €150 million level at the very least. Barcelona’s latest figures make it very doubtful that they would have the funds to cover a one-off payment as well as finance the kind of contract Pogba would expect.

The Spanish Liga sets salary caps for each club according to their revenue and Barcelona are at the maximum of their current cap.

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The club’s €916 million revenue was achieved by the Neymar fee, the single biggest for a player in the history of the game and paid as a lump sum by PSG under the terms of his buyout clause. It is that which has kept Barcelona in profit this year with the combined cost of Philippe Coutinho who arrived in January, and Ousmane Dembele, who arrived the previous summer, having been spread over the course of their respective five-year contracts.

Barcelona acknowledged this in their remarks accompanying those accounts saying that they could better their revenue next year through “improved commercial and sponsorship revenue, media rights, stadium revenues and transfers of players”. The club are predicting a €960 million revenue for next season.