Josep Maria Bartomeu insists Barcelona “will always have the resources” to keep Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar from the Premier League’s clutches.
Speculation has mounted in the British Press that La Blaugrana’s financial situation is deteriorating, to the extent they may have to sacrifice their ‘MSN’ attacking trio, but the President has made it clear that his club will never be cornered into such a position.
“No other club in the world in any sport think beyond one or two seasons, but we do at Barca,” he told the Financial Times.
“We want to be the first club to reach €1 trillion in revenue.
“Our opponent is the Premier League, not a specific club but the strength of the Premier League itself.
“Contrary to what has been published by the British Press, Barcelona will always have the resources to defend themselves against offers from English clubs for Messi, Neymar and Suarez.
“The real problem is that our starlets of 16 years are constantly receiving tempting offers from Premier League clubs. Each year, there are some who leave [to take them].
“The famous formula which clubs historically grew by was that sporting success led to social success, which in turn led to more sporting success.
“But we want to develop a way so that not everything depends on wins or defeats.
“We want to ensure the club remain a global benchmark, even if there is a sporting failure.
“Barca are a global club, but the world is a big place and at the moment we’re taking up very little space [in the global market].
“[New York, Sao Paulo and Shanghai] are the markets in which the club are pushing to grow.
“[On Unicef], today we are competing with clubs owned by large companies or billionaires with enormous resources.
“Therefore, it’d be utopian to return to UNICEF [as our main shirt sponsor].”
