Soccer Football - LaLiga - FC Barcelona Training - Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper, Barcelona, Spain - November 3, 2023 Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez during training REUTERS/Albert Gea/ File photo
(Reuters) - Barcelona can no longer afford to shell out huge sums in transfer fees for top players like Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe, coach Xavi Hernandez said.
Barcelona forked out fees in excess of 100 million euros ($109.24 million) for Philippe Coutinho, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele between 2017-19, but the club's financial issues mean they are unlikely to splurge on big new signings anytime soon.
Xavi has said they are hoping to sign new players in the January transfer window but when asked if they could go after the likes of Manchester City's Haaland or France captain Mbappe he told reporters: "I have to deal with the players I have, because right now we are not able to think about those kinds of signings.
"Unfortunately, we are not in a privileged situation economically to do that. I am left with the players I have, and with those players we have to win," added the Spaniard, speaking ahead of Barcelona's league game at Las Palmas on Thursday.
"We have to win titles and we have to play well because the bar is very high."
Barcelona are fourth in the league, 10 points behind leaders Real Madrid, who have played one game more than Xavi's side.
($1 = 0.9154 euros)
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Nashik, India; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
