Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman has moved to ease fears over the club’s financial situation and insisted the developments are not adversely impacting his players.
The Dutchman insists that the club’s worrying financial situation is anything unique – insisting that the ramifications of Covid-19 and the lack of fans is a major reason for the Blaugrana’s struggles.
Read more: Barcelona on the verge of bankruptcy: €1,173m in debt, €730m in short-term
The news comes amid reports that the club’s players have not received their payment for December – one of their two annual payments – as the club were not in a position to process the salary.
Read more: Barcelona players have not received agreed wages from January as club financial crisis deepens
Koeman was speaking to the press on Tuesday ahead of his side’s Copa del Rey trip to Rayo Vallecano this midweek and said of the situation, in quotes carried by Marca: “All teams suffer economically from the impacts of Covid.
“Barça also suffers from the lack of tourism. All clubs can get quite bad numbers at the moment due to this. It is not only here. From what I have seen, the players are not impacted by this.”
A stunning report in El Mundo on Monday revealed the extent of the club’s debt: €1,173m in debt, with €730m of that sum due in the short term while €266m is owed to the banks by 30 June, of which €90m is owed to Goldman Sachs.
Interim club president Carlos Tusquets had previously given a wide-ranging interview to Catalan radio station RAC1, with quotes carried in full by Marca, claiming that the club were unable to pay players for their pre-agreed salary.
Whilst the club’s first-team squad has been slimmed down this year, with a reported €80m off the wage bill, there is still a worrying financial outlook for the club.
