Raphinha

Leeds United insert special clause into Raphinha deal due to Barcelona finances

Much has been made of Barcelona’s spending this summer and in particular, surrounding their deal to bring Raphinha to the club. The fee was not disclosed, by either club but multiple sources have reported that at least €55m was paid as a fixed fee to Leeds United.

That comes in the context of a Barcelona in €1.3bn debt as per the latest figures, following a season in which they struggled to register players. The situation should have eased by the sale of assets in June, with scope for further sales approved by members.

Yet it hasn’t done away with the confusion at how Barcelona are getting the money together. Several key things had to happen for Barcelona to get the Raphinha deal done, with Diario AS picking up on The Athletic’s reporting.

Brazilian veteran Dani Alves seemingly helped to persuade Raphinha to make the move, while his agent Deco supposedly waived any cut he was due to make. That figure was placed in the millions.

In addition, Leeds, wary of Barcelona’s finances, inserted a clause into the contract which shows the level of mistrust they had. Barcelona will be forced to pay a further €10m if they are unable to make the payments stipulated.

It shows the degree to which other clubs in Europe are worrying that they might not be able to get their money. However a lot of this concern seems misplaced – despite the burgeoning debt issue, Barcelona did not lack the funds to register players last season, rather they were compliant with La Liga’s financial rules.

Tags Barcelona Deco Leeds United Raphinha
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