Barcelona are once again looking to pull an economic lever, with their previous attempts failing to see the money come out the other end.
Initially, Barcelona sold 49.5% of Barca Studios for €200m, bought by Orpheus Media and Socios. They have thus far received €40m for the sale, but were expected to be further on with the payments. Foreseeing that the initial investors were unlikely to stump up the money this summer, they sold 29.5% to Libero and NIPA to the tune of €120m, €60m of which was due this year, and €40m of which pertaining to Libero has not been paid.
Cadena SER claim that the Libero-owned percentage is only 9.8%, but either way, they have not paid any of the €40m promised. They go on to say that the Blaugrana now assume that Libero will not pay the money they are due in 2023, which is necessary for them to register new signings in January.
🚨💰 El Barça ja assumeix que Libero Football Finance AG no pagarà els 40M€ que deu per Barça Studios
❌ El fons alemany va comprar el 9,8% d’accions de Barça Studios a l’estiu, però no ha abonat ni un euro
🔎El club fa setmanes que busca nous inversorshttps://t.co/kIme4HsRbc
— Què T'hi Jugues (@QueThiJugues) November 20, 2023
The result is that Barcelona are on the hunt for a third set of investors to give them the €40m they are due. Given the desperation of their search, and the necessity of bringing in that money on a short timescale, Barcelona are working from a poor negotiating position.
President Joan Laporta approved the levers in order to allow Barcelona to invest in the short-term, and rebuild their squad. This brought a title last season, but they are now paying the price, with their salary limit struggles making it difficult for the Blaugrana to move in the market this year.
🚨 Barça already assume that Libero Football Finance AG will not pay the €40m they owe for Barça Studios. The German fund bought 9.8% of the shares in the summer, but has not paid a single euro. The club are now looking for new investors. @QueThiJugues
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) November 20, 2023
