FC Barcelona seem to be losing part of their original glory week after week. Now the question even arises whether the lights will go out soon in the legendary Camp Nou.
The reason for this is the horrific mountain of debt that the Catalans have amassed. In figures: 1.173 billion euros – an incredible sum that was published as part of the annual financial report.
Barca have to loosen up € 730m in the short term. It is probably not an exaggeration that The world say Barca are “on the verge of bankruptcy”.
How could it possibly come this far.
FC Barcelona lived beyond its means
At the heart of the debt problem is that the club has apparently lived beyond its means for years.
In their teens, many people are taught by their parents that you can’t spend money that you don’t actually have – keyword installment payments.
But that’s exactly what Barca have been doing for years – without any idea how the money will be raised in the future. The salaries for players, coaches and staff are 74 percent of the club’s revenue. There isn’t much left. Because of this, the Catalans could even face a fine from the league association, as this proportion cannot exceed 70 percent. That would just be missing.
This mismanagement is compounded by the fact that those responsible are not adolescents, but seasoned experts in the financial and business sector – or should rather act.
The result is, among other things, debts to some clubs, some of which were caused by transfers that occurred a long time ago. Barca still have to transfer 40 million euros to Liverpool FC – because of Philippe Coutinho, who moved to Catalonia three years ago.
The Catalans also owe FC Bayern money, around eleven million euros for the services of Arturo Vidal, who is no longer playing in Barcelona. In total, the debt for previous transfers is almost 200 million euros. 126 million of this have to be paid in the short term – almost all amounts are outstanding amounts relating to installment payments.
Barca are playing for time
Even more frightening: By June 30, 266 million euros must be repaid to banks – 90 million of which to Goldman Sachs. The club has guaranteed the loans with the company Barca Licensing & Merchandising. It is almost absurd, however, that Barca had any loans at all, as the club actually had no guarantees.
First of all, Barca are playing for time, those responsible are loud Football Espana several banks asked for an exemption so that the debt can be deferred. Thus, an early insolvency should be averted – but at the latest in the medium term only income will help.
Playing for time only helps if there is a plan for afterwards. But where do Barca want to get hundreds of millions from?
Barca have to go to the luxury squad
One thing seems clear: FC Barcelona cannot ask for help from the banks this time. It’s amazing enough that the club got any money at all for transfers like Antoine Griezmann’s. But now the limit has been crossed.
So Barca have to raise money in another way. This can actually only happen in two interrelated ways: player sales and salary savings.
However, Barca chose a bad time for this – during the corona pandemic, there is hardly a club that willingly loosens millions for players. That should especially apply to this winter, when much is still uncertain.
There is also the question of who the Catalans could sell for a lot of money – and then you quickly end up with Lionel Messi.
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Does Messi have to be sold spontaneously?
Last summer, the superstar caused a collective shock in Catalonia when he declared that he wanted to leave the club. After a long back and forth he stayed. Meanwhile, quite a few people around the club believe that Barca Messi would have sold better in the summer.
In terms of sport, things are not going well with Messi either, and saving the salary of the world’s highest-paid footballer would probably not have hurt in retrospect.
Now Barcelona have the problem that Messi can go on a free transfer next summer. Top French clubs Paris Saint Germain appear to be keen to get Messi. “It’s up to him whether he wants to come or not. PSG are trying to convince Messi,” said PSG midfielder Leandro Paredes in a recent interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport.
If you believe Geoffroy Garétier from the French television station Canal + France the entire Messi family is already busy moving to the French capital. “Messi, his wife and children are learning French. Would he do that if he went to Manchester City?” Said Garétier, who wants the information from a reliable source.
Griezmann and Dembélé could also follow
FC Barcelona will only get money for Messi this winter. The transfer window ends on February 1st, so the Catalans have six days left.
Such a short-term sale of the 33-year-old would come as a surprise and is anything but easy to thread. If a Lionel Messi were on the market for a ridiculous price, then many clubs would probably look at it. (To the transfer ticker)
It would be a first step for FC Barcelona to pay off the debt. But that would not be enough. Griezmann could soon be up for sale, Ousmane Dembélé – who could be a candidate for Bayern – Coutinho, Jordi Alba, Frenkie de Jong and maybe even Marc-André ter Stegen, who has just extended his contract until 2025.
There could be a sale that is second to none.
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