It's safe to say that Barcelona are in serious financial trouble. The Catalan club are currently at loggerheads with their own player Frenkie de Jong over unpaid wages and, judging by a spectacular Twitter thread from Wednesday, that may only be the tip of the iceberg for La Blaugrana.
Football writer Kristian Sturt broke down the financial situation at Barcelona this week and it does not paint a pretty picture for the club. Sturt even made a bold claim that the club could cease to exist in a matter of years if they cannot find a way out of the dire situation they are in.
The mismanagement of the club's finances is shocking to read, and raises serious questions about the future of the club.
FC Barcelona: Club at risk of financial ruin
For quite some time now, reports have persisted of Barcelona overextending themselves on transfer and wage fees. The five-times champions of Europe have suffered a mighty fall from grace in recent years, and their financial situation is so poor that it forced club legend Lionel Messi out of the club last summer.
One stark Twitter thread on Wednesday afternoon laid bare some of the numbers behind Barcelona's economic struggles. Krisitan Sturt broke down how Barcelona have ended up in such a dire situation - and the desperate moves they are making to try and wiggle their way out of trouble.
IT'S MY OPINION that FC Barcelona are in real trouble financially, and I feel as though the footballing world isn't talking about the seriousness of their current situation enough.
We may be years away from a world without FC Barcelona.
Here's why, a thread:— Kristian Sturt (@FootieWriter) July 13, 2022
We've picked out some of the highlights and most shocking stats from the thread below:
In the 21/22 season Barcelona's salary limit was €98m. To overcome this players inc; Pique, Busquets and Alba took salary cuts. It's now MINUS 144m compared to Madrid's 739m. That means Barca will only be able to spend 25 percent of any savings they can make. The LaLiga director general Javier Gomez offered a bit more insight into the above stating: “Until [Barca] recover the net worth that they’ve lost, the only way they can spend is with the 1:4 rule, where if you save €10m, you can spend €2.5m."
Barcelona have also reportedly deferred wages, which they appear to be trying to negotiate to reduce. Frenkie de Jong may just be the tip of the iceberg.
At the start of the 21/22 season, Barcelona 'cushioned' their accounts meaning if they can get any fee for Umtiti, Pjanic & Neto it counts as direct profit. Cushioning accounts is a desperate sign.
Eduard Romeu [the vice president of Barcelona] has said the club need £427 million to save the club from its current mess. That amount would only half their total debt.
Barcelona still reportedly owes near £100m transfer fees on several different players.
They still have 2 players on over £300k a week, 8 players on over £200k a week & 17 players on over £100k a week.
AS have stated that Barcelona may have had to defer many of their players wages for the whole of June & that they plan to ask loyal players like Busquets, Pique, Alba and ter Stegen to take yearlong wage reductions for the second time.
The numbers above are stark and paint a grim picture for Barcelona. The club's situation has come into the limelight once again this week in light of the Frenkie de Jong transfer saga.
De Jong has been linked with Manchester United since the outset of the transfer window, but he is reportedly owed up to £17m in wages by his current employers.
Manchester United have reached full agreement with Barcelona for Frenkie de Jong, after further talks. Package worth €85m. Fee guaranteed around €75m plus add-ons. 🚨🇳🇱 #MUFC
Personal terms, still the issue to be resolved - as Frenkie’s priority is to stay at Barcelona. pic.twitter.com/aTYnV3cHkP— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 14, 2022
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De Jong is said to be refusing a move away from the Camp Nou until he receives guarantees he will receive the outstanding salary. The economics of Barcelona are affecting their transfer dealings elsewhere, with sensational reports from German football journalist Raphael Honigstein suggesting that Bayern Munich refused an instalment-based payment for Robert Lewandowski, as they believed Barcelona will not exist as a club in two years.
Bayern Munich have told FC Barcelona they don't want any installments in any deal for Robert Lewandowski and that they want all the money upfront in cash because Bayern believes that FC Barcelona won't exist in "one or two years' time". #fcblive #fcbayern [@honigstein] pic.twitter.com/MIBgrCxgpl
— Football Talk (@Football_TaIk) July 6, 2022
The claim from Bayern Munich does not seem as ludicrous when you read the numbers behind Barcelona's financial mismanagement.
The club appear to be making desperate attempts to salvage the situation. They recently struck a deal to sell 10% of their TV rights for the next 25 years, and Sturt reports that figure may yet increase.
Barca sold 10% already for 25 years to ease pressure.
Reports CVC & Sachs have offered up to 250m Euros to take around 15% of Barcelona's TV rights for up to the next 50 years. This seems to be the light for Barcelona, but Laporta is dragging his heels. This time it may be valid— Kristian Sturt (@FootieWriter) July 13, 2022
But the situation at Barcelona is increasingly volatile, and it looks like the club could be in trouble, if Sturt is to be believed.
What if Barca don't make Europe?
What if players fight back against deferred wages?
What if loyal players refuse to accept cuts?
What if Pjanic and Umtiti can't be offloaded?
What if De Jong deal collapses?
All could be the single straw that breaks the camel's back.
/end— Kristian Sturt (@FootieWriter) July 13, 2022
It will certainly be fascinating to see how the situation at Barcelona develops, and if they can manage to stay afloat and competitive in the coming years.
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