SOCCER
El presidente del Barça revela deudas por €1.350m
August 17, 2021 -
El presidente del Barcelona Joan Laporta ha dado a conocer el alcance
de la crisis financiera del club, revelando que el gigante de La Liga tiene deudas por €1.350m – €200m sobre la cifra reportada en enero.
Just days after offloading prized asset Lionel Messi to Paris St-Germain, Joan Laporta has revealed the spiralling economic crisis engulfing Barcelona. With a staggering €1.35bn debt -- mainly consisting of existing bank loans and player wages -- the Spanish giants face a fight to charter a way back to financial health.
Laporta says predecessor Josep Maria Bartomeu left a “terrible inheritance” that “evaded all internal checks”, with many of the club’s senior players now having to accept salary cuts to aid recovery.
The sale of Neymar for €222m, in 2017, has been seen as a catalyst for Barcelona’s misfortunes, with inflated wages and a poor transfer policy, coupled with lack of European success on the pitch, responsible for the club’s failure to maintain its status as a heavyweight of world football.