After staving off the threat of bankruptcy by pulling one economic lever after another, Joan Laporta proudly declared in July that Barcelona were "on the road to normality". The Catalans, the club president claimed, were back in a position to sign some of the game's top talent.
However, Barca brought in just one high-profile player during the summer transfer window, Dani Olmo, who was signed from RB Leipzig for €60 million (£50m/$62m), and they didn't even manage to register the Spain international in time for the start of the 2024-25 season because of their ongoing financial problems.
In the end, Barca needed a very timely injury to Andreas Christensen, which freed up some space within their salary cap, and special dispensation from La Liga to field Olmo - but only for the first half of the season while the club continued to work on balancing the books. Olmo's status for the second half of the campaign remains up in the air, however, after Barca's appeal to register the Spain international for the remainder of the campaign was rejected, meaning they have work to do to avoid a seriously embarrassing situation.
But that aside, what else can Barca actually do in January? Will they be able to strengthen Hansi Flick's squad? Or will their sole objective be holding onto what they've already got? GOAL explains all below...