A loan taken out by Barcelona from Goldman Sachs it to pay for player wage bills and is not relating to improving the club’s facilities, a leading economist in the city has warned.
Marc Ciria was the economist behind Joan Laporta’s run for the club presidency in 2015 and he has now given an interview to the EFE press agency, as quoted by Marca, warning about what this loan means for the club.
He has claimed it is not to pay for Espai Barça – the sporting city project of the club to upgrade their facilities – but instead to cover player wages.
“Goldman Sachs is an investment bank, not a money loan bank. The appearance of Goldman Sachs means that Barcelona has not been able to go to national entities to increase their debt. The reason is obvious: the club owes almost €500m to them in debt,” Ciria explained.
“The club is using the 30-year debt for Espai Barça, of which it is clearly inflating the final cost result, to pay the player salaries for this year. And Goldman Sachs already thinks it is good because it is charging interest between 3 and 4 percent and if Barcelona does not pay then there will be consequences.
“The debt that needs to be paid in the short term is 77 percent. That means that there is no money to pay the payroll or some providers. So, the increase in debt has been to pay the day-to-day of the club, not the Espai Barça.”
Luis Suarez, Arturo Vidal, Arthur Melo, Rafinha Alcantara and Nelson Semedo are among the players who have left the club this summer, with the club record alarming financial results for the past year with debt doubling and president Josep Maria Bartomeu facing a no confidence vote.
Those raft of players exits reduced the club’s wage bill significantly for this season, with Diario Sport saying the gross reduction stands at a grand total of €80m.
