Like every year, the Spanish Football League has revealed the salary ceilings authorized by the clubs involved in its various championships. For the 2026-2027 season, Real Madrid is at the top of the rankings. The Merengue club is well ahead of the competition, starting with FC Barcelona which comes in second position, but has much more room for maneuver than last season.
This famous staff spending ceiling defines the amounts that each club can spend on its staff based on its income, expenses and debts. Concerning Barça, which was entitled to 432 million euros in spending at the time of the last winter transfer window (2025-2026), this time it increased to 582 million euros. A good progression explained in particular by the reduction in structural expenses (excluding sport) and the revenue generated by the sales of VIP boxes at the new Camp Nou, as specified by AS.
But the leader is undoubtedly Real Madrid. President Florentino Perez’s club has a spending limit set at 832 million euros. A record. In third position, AtlĂ©tico de Madrid is there. But the Colchoneros are even further than FC Barcelona with 361 million euros.
A gulf between Real Madrid and Sevilla FC
Note that Sevilla FC brings up the rear for La Liga, with only 20 million euros of authorized spending. Promoted this season, Deportivo La Coruna has a salary cap set at 64 million euros, more than many other clubs already present in the Spanish elite last season.
As a reminder, the salary cap includes the sums that a club is authorized to spend on the players, the first team coach, his assistant and the physical trainer (official team) as well as for the reserve teams, the training center and the other sections (unofficial team). A calculation follows which takes into account the club’s budgeted income (subscriptions, ticketing, sponsorship, etc.), from which the budgeted non-sporting expenses are subtracted (office rent, charges, etc.), but also the reimbursement of debts and losses from the previous season.
