Barcelona’s financial situation has been a topic of discussion for several years at this point and currently, it shows no sign of leaving the public domain any time soon.
Many asked during the January transfer market how it was possible that Barcelona could afford a €55m outlay on Ferran Torres given their financial restrictions. That’s without taking into account the salaries of Torrres, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Dani Alves and Adama Traore.
It appears that the board are still working out the answer to that question. Alarm bells rang when CEO of Barcelona Ferran Reverter resigned at the beginning of February, reportedly over financial decisions taken by President Joan Laporta. SPORT are reporting that Laporta and the board are putting in extra hours to help Reverter’s second in command, Maribel Melendez.
The general assembly at Barcelona approved a budget of €765m for the season, yet are coming up €100 million short of that figure currently. Amongst the causes of this shortfall are the investments in January, but also the failure to qualify for the Champions League knockout stages. The club had initially budgeted for making the quarter-finals.
Other issues include the wage bill at Barcelona, which Laporta has worked hard to reduce but has not yet managed to lower to the forecasted figure of €470m.
Although the situation is causing concern at the club, they are still to sell 49% of Barca Studios, which could make up around half of that shortfall. Another alternative open to the club would be accepting the CVC deal proposed by La Liga.
Once more, it appears that finances will play a large part of the Barcelona narrative this summer.
