Barca's financial problems played down by La Liga chief
Martin Macdonald
- 8 Oct 2021 09:20 BST
- 3 min read
La Liga president Javier Tebas believes Barcelona's current financial situation isn't "bad" and pointed to the fact they have received a huge bank loan as proof.
The Blaugrana are going through a tough time both on and off the pitch.
Under Ronald Koeman the team has made a poor start to the season, winning less than half of their opening matches in La Liga.
Even more concerning has been the performances in Europe, as Barcelona are coming off two straight 3-0 defeats against Bayern Munich and Benfica in the Champions League.
On the business side of things, they are €1.3 billion in debt and recently announced losses of €481m for the past year.
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Covid has played a part in the financial situation, but the debts are mostly due to the club's exorbitant spending on transfer fees and wages over the last five years.
Club president Joan Laporta and his directors are working tirelessly to undo the damage caused by the previous regime by cutting as many costs as possible.
This led to a major wage restructuring in the summer which ultimately led to the departure of legendary player Lionel Messi as well as other high-earners like Antoine Griezmann and Miralem Pjanic.
Barca did not spend big in the transfer market either, instead bringing in free agents Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia.
Barcelona's financial problems played down
Tebas, who led the campaign for a new salary cap to be introduced in La Liga, has surprisingly said that Barcelona's finances are not as bad as reported.
"About Barça I am more concerned about the institutional crisis that I see than about the economic situation," he told L'Equipe.
"Everyone who arrives (at the club) throws garbage on those who precede them.
"We have their figures, Barca was not almost dead, if not, they could not have received a loan of more than 500 million. Barca is not so bad, although it is worse than Madrid."
The loan is allegedly coming from Goldman Sachs, and Laporta explained that negotiations are still ongoing over the potential investment.
"We are negotiating," he told RAC1.
"There are no real guarantees. It is the business itself that returns the credit. Goldman Sachs will have no control. They trust us. Barca will rule here.
"The decision power will be absolutely from Barça. There will be no counter-power. We are obtaining the trust and credibility of all the factors. The power is 100 per cent from Barca.
"They accompany us."
