There was alarm for Barcelona on Tuesday with a report in El Periodico outlining that newly elected president Joan Laporta was struggling to meet a crucial deadline for a depository payment.
The club’s legislature states that any newly elected president must make a depository payment of 15 percent of the club’s budget – which currently stands at €124.6m – within ten days of their election.
That means that Laporta must deposit that sum of money by Wednesday, and that was in doubt due to a collapse in an agreement with Catalan-based renewable energy company Audax Renovables, who were set to guarantee €70m of that payment.
José Elías Navarro, the founder of Audax, claimed that it would be impossible for him to fund the club – they can only assist them at a managerial and experience level.
Catalan radio station RAC1 then claimed that the agreement may be resurrected with the company’s Eduard Romeu appointed to a key position on the Blaugrana’s board.
Now, Cadena Cope say there is renewed confidence the payment can be generated.
🔵🔴 Joan Laporta, sus hermanos y sus directivos más cercanos ya están de nuevo en su despacho encarando los últimos flecos del aval
▶️ Confían en cerrar el porcentaje que falta de los 124M€ esta tarde y tenerlo listo para enviarlo a La Liga
— Víctor Navarro (@victor_nahe) March 16, 2021
Indeed, it is suggested that payment can be secured by Tuesday and Laporta can subsequently be sworn in as the new president officially.
