Barcelona Aims to Finalize New Signings Before La Liga Opener

Barcelona believe the paperwork will not get in the way of their new era under Hansi Flick.

The club are increasingly confident that all of their major summer signings will be registered in time for Sunday’s 2026/27 La Liga opener against Elche, with the process formally starting today, Thursday, according to SPORT.

The clock is ticking, but inside the offices at Barça they see a clear path to the finish line.

Flick wants full deck for Elche

The plan is simple: Flick should have every new first-team arrival available for selection on Sunday.

Barcelona are currently operating under La Liga’s 1:1 rule, which allows them to register new players as long as every euro spent is matched by a euro saved or earned. It’s a far more manageable scenario than the restrictive conditions that choked their transfer business in previous summers.

That doesn’t mean it’s just a case of sending a list to La Liga and waiting for a rubber stamp. Each registration must be backed by the correct sporting and financial documentation, and the club are determined to avoid a last-minute scramble.

So the push begins now, with enough margin to resolve any detail before Flick names his first competitive squad as Barcelona coach.

Among the headline arrivals set to be registered are Rodri, Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi.

• Rodri, signed from Manchester City on a deal running until 2030, stands out as the flagship move of the window and a symbol of the club’s attempt to rebuild a dominant midfield core.
• Gordon was the first deal closed in the summer and has been in the planning for weeks.
• Adeyemi adds another injection of pace and direct running to the forward line.
• Hamza Abdelkarim is also part of the club’s immediate plans after Barcelona exercised their purchase option on him.
• Young talent Jesse Bisiwu will be registered with the reserve team but is expected to remain within the wider first-team dynamic, training regularly under Flick and offering depth across the season.

If all goes as Barcelona expect, Flick will walk into the Elche match with a refreshed, fully eligible squad at his disposal.

Cancelo and Christensen complicate the picture

One name still sits in the “to solve” column: Joao Cancelo.

The Portuguese full-back arrived later than the rest of the new faces, compressing the timeline to get his registration over the line. That delay makes his presence against Elche the least certain of the group.

Barcelona, though, remain optimistic. The club believe they can generate the necessary room through outgoing operations and adjustments, then finalise Cancelo’s paperwork without major drama. The margin for error is slimmer, but the expectation is that he will not be left out in the cold for long, even if the opener comes a touch too soon.

Another file on the desk is Andreas Christensen’s situation, which also requires attention on the registration front and feeds into the same financial puzzle the club are trying to solve before the new campaign kicks off.

The administrative race is on. By Sunday night at Montjuïc, we will know if Flick’s Barcelona start this season at full strength or with one or two key pieces still waiting at the door.