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Many things are repeatedly discussed in football to limit the annual increase in clubs’ salaries and transfer expenses. There is currently no uniform solution from UEFA or FIFA. There are many ideas for this, especially US sports with their salary cap and draft system, which have always provided sporting balance. Of course, this cannot be applied 1 to 1 to European football, since the top leagues in the USA are closed leagues and operate without promotion or relegation. Nevertheless, individual leagues are trying to introduce new rules specifically, such as the PSR (Profitability and Sustainability Rules) in the Premier League or the so-called Squad Cost Limit in La Liga.
Understanding La Liga’s Squad Cost Limit
Before we analyze the numbers of each club together. Let’s explain to you what the Squad Cost Limit is and how it is composed. In general, the squad cost limit is all costs that a club may spend on the transfer market and on its team during the season. This is divided into registrable parts and non-registrable parts. The registrable portion includes transfer expenses, player salaries, coach salaries, and assistant coach and fitness coach costs. The non-registrable portion includes expenses for the reserve team, youth teams, and other expenses. Whether the costs are registered or non-registered parts, both parts cover the costs of fixed and variable salaries, collective bonuses, social security, transfer fees including payments to player agents, and player depreciation (player purchase price calculated annually according to the player’s contract term).
Contrary to what many assume, the squad cost limit for each individual club is not set by La Liga. The clubs submit a specially created summary (based on forms specified by La Liga) of all squad costs, which must then be approved by the so-called „La Liga Validation Body“. Furthermore, the amount submitted does not have to be the highest limit that a club can achieve. For example, it is sufficient to submit all the costs needed to register the entire team as well as the coaching staff, although a higher limit could have been approved due to the club’s financial situation. It is also interesting that in special cases the squad cost limit does not have to be the actual upper limit for team costs. This article follows a separate paragraph using the example of the financially struggling Sevilla FC. Here is the list of squad cost limits for the 2026/27 season as of the end of the 2026 summer transfer window. After the winter transfer window, this can be adjusted due to transfer movements or changes in a club’s overall balance sheets. The Squad Cost Limit figures were published by La Liga and prepared by Football Finance Lab in this table.
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Year‑on‑Year Comparison: Which Clubs Increased Their Spending Power?
We had already analyzed the squad cost limits of La Liga clubs last season (you can find the article here). Real Madrid was already in first place last season with a large lead and will remain so for the 2026/27 season, with the Royals even increasing their SCL by 71 million euros. The biggest increase was achieved by FC Barcelona, which increased its squad cost limit from 351 million euros to 582 million euros. This represents an increase of €231 million, a whopping 65% compared to the previous year. Although the Catalans are struggling with severe financial problems, they still managed a massive increase. A detailed analysis of FC Barcelona’s financial problems can be found here. Atletico Madrid remains in third place and has also increased its Squad Cost Limit. The Colchoneros achieved an increase from approximately 35 million euros to 361 million euros. Villareal FC (a slight loss of 3 million euros last year), Real Betis Sevilla, Athletic Club Bilbao and Real Sociedad follow in 4th-7th place. Betis, Bilbao and Sociedad were all able to increase their Squad Cost Limits, with Real Betis achieving the largest increase, moving from 7th to 5th place. Valencia CF and Celta Vigo follow in 8th and 9th place, as in the previous year. Deportivo de La Coruna, the first newly promoted team, is in 10th place, demonstrating particular financial strength for a newly promoted team. At €64 million, Deportivo has a whopping €19 million more in squad cost limits than Real Oviedo, which was the strongest promoted team last year. Thanks to the strong sporting successes last season, including reaching the final of the Conference League, Rayo Vallecano was able to increase from 15th place to 11th place with 15 million euros. The three promoted teams achieve the largest percentage increases, with Racing Club de Santander increasing its squad cost limit fivefold last year (from 11 million euros to 53 million euros). UD Levante is increasing from 35 million euros to 45 million euros in its second year in La Liga, and thus from 19th to 17th place. Although FC Malaga is the last team to be relegated with 33 million euros, it is still undercut by FC Sevilla with 20 million euros, 10% or 2 million euros less than the previous season.
Why Sevilla FC Has the Lowest Squad Cost Limit – Detailed Explanation
Sevilla FC are bottom of the table with only 20 million euros. This puts Sevilla in last place by a clear margin. With only 20 million euros, one might also ask how one is supposed to finance a squad ready for the first division. At first glance, this looks impossible. However, La Liga has ensured that clubs that can only register a very small squad cost limit due to their financial difficulties have the option to exceed it. Thus, article 34, paragraph 3, of La Liga’s Budget Preparation Rules states paraphrased: in order to achieve a minimum sporting level of each team, it may suspend the Squad Cost Rule and spend a maximum of 30% of the projected net revenue (which must additionally be budgeted and accepted by the Validation Body) on its team. Sevilla FC had net sales of 115 million euros in the 2024/25 financial year. If we now take the permitted 30% of this value and assume that La Liga’s Validation Body also approves it, Sevilla FC would end up with permitted squad costs of 34.5 million euros. This is roughly on the level of newly promoted Malaga and would put Sevilla in last place together with Malaga. However, Sevilla will probably report a higher projected net turnover and try to get it released by La Liga. We have already done a detailed analysis of Sevilla FC’s financial problems in the following article. As a final conclusion about Sevilla FC, La Liga’s rules ensure that they are at least allowed to spend enough on their squad to be able to compete realistically in the Spanish elite league. However, it is just enough to be able to participate in the relegation battle purely after the finances.
