Last week, Barcelona members greenlighted a proposal by the club's board to sell future merchandising and TV rights in exchange for immediate cold, hard cash. They hope to generate up to €700 million ("possibly more" according to president Joan Laporta) which must surely be some kind of record.
It's money Barcelona desperately needed, because as of right now, they're way over LaLiga's spending limits. Their spending maximum for next season is currently negative to the tune of -€144m. This doesn't quite mean -- as might be implied -- that players have to pay to play for the club, but it's not far off and, as it stands, would mean that Barca would need to shed players and salaries in order to bring anybody in.