Barcelona Femení: Dominance, debt, and a warning for women’s football

You’ve seen the headlines: “Only 17 players contracted for the new season.” But how did Barcelona Femení – the most dominant force in women’s football – go from packing Camp Nou and conquering Europe to starting the new campaign on what feels like a major tipping point for the club?

This isn’t just a transfer window blip. It’s a crisis with deep financial, cultural, and structural consequences for the women’s game.

What’s actually happened?

Barcelona Femení, the envy of world football, begin the 2025/26 season with just 17 registered first-team players. That’s not even enough to fill a bench of seven substitutes. Any injury crisis and their run of silverware could crumble.

For context, last season Barça had 22 senior players. The cuts are drastic, leaving a squad built to compete on four fronts perilously thin.

Why did this happen?

The short answer: money.

The wider truth? Years of reckless spending by FC Barcelona’s board have dragged the entire club into more than €1 billion of debt. And in La Liga, financial limits don’t distinguish between men’s and women’s football – every section counts as part of the same financial organism.

So while Barça Femení are one of the rare women’s clubs generating consistent profit – €19m in revenue last season, up from €17m the year before, the highest in the world – they’re still being forced to cut costs because of the men’s team’s excesses.

That’s meant releasing players, trimming contracts, and refusing to add depth. The women’s wage bill hovers at €14m, yet it still hasn’t balanced the books. Reports suggest that was about €1m short going into this season – enough to trigger a brutal downsizing.

The symbolism is damning: the team that delivers trophies, sells shirts, and fills stadiums is treated as expendable, while the men’s squad remains bloated.

Players out

• Ingrid Syrstad Engen (Midfielder) to Olympique Lyonnais. 24/25 stats: 40 app, 1 gl
• Ellie Roebuck (Goalkeeper) to Aston Villa. 24/25 stats: 2 app
• Fridolina Rolfö (Winger/Left-back) to Manchester United. 24/25 stats: 38 app, 6 gls
• Bruna Vilamala (Forward) to Club América. 24/25 stats: 0 app
• Martina Fernández (Defender) to Everton. 24/25 stats: 2 app
• Jana Fernández (Defender)to London City Lionesses. 24/25 stats: 1 app

Players in

• Laia Aleixandri (Defender) from Manchester City. 24/25 stats: 33 app, 1 gl

The cost to fans

The anger has been loudest from the stands. Social media is awash with frustration, with one question echoing across platforms:

“Why should the best women’s team in the world pay for the men’s mistakes?”

The discontent isn’t just external. Inside the club, unease has lingered since the exit of long-serving sporting director Markel Zubizarreta in 2024. His decision to leave, after overseeing Barça Femení’s rise to dominance, was seen by many as a warning sign that the foundations weren’t as stable as they looked.

The stakes now couldn’t be higher. With icons Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmatí both out of contract in 2026, the prospect of an exodus looms. Losing even one of them would be seismic. Losing both in the same summer no longer feels unthinkable.

A wider warning to women’s football

Barcelona’s implosion isn’t just their problem – it’s a flashing red light for the women’s game.

In England, budgets aren’t shackled to the men’s overspending, giving WSL clubs freedom to grow sustainably.

The lesson? Women’s football can thrive on its own terms — but tying it too tightly to the fortunes of men’s clubs leaves it vulnerable.

Some argue Barça Femení should be spun off as a semi-independent entity to attract outside investment. Others say smarter governance is the only answer. Either way, the current model is broken.

Why this matters

Barcelona Femení are more than a football team. They’re a cultural force who’ve redefined what women’s sport can be: stylish, dominant, profitable, and unmissable.

If even they can be stripped down to 17 players while the men’s side keeps its squad depth, it reveals where the power — and the priorities — still lie.

Women’s football has grown too fast, too big, and too important to be dragged backwards by the men’s game’s financial failures. Fans, federations, and sponsors need to demand better structures that protect and value women’s clubs.

For now, Barça will keep fighting with the talent they still have — Bonmatí, Putellas, Hansen — but competing across all fronts is almost impossible with a squad this thin. Unless something changes off the pitch, the dynasty that redefined women’s football may be closer to collapse than anyone wants to admit.

The takeaway

The growth of women’s football has been extraordinary — but growth without sustainability risks collapse. Clubs can’t rush to mirror the men’s game. They need bespoke structures, smarter financial models, and a recognition that women’s football is its own unique proposition.

Barcelona Femení should be a beacon of what’s possible. Instead, they’ve become a warning.