The ASTRONOMICAL debt Barcelona owe Jordi Alba

Stuart Telford

• 14 Mar 2023 20:20 GMT
• 3 min read

Barcelona have been told by La Liga to reduce their debt by €200 million next summer. The desperately need Jordi Alba to follow Gerard Pique's example…

Pique was one of the top earners at Barca, but he agreed to waive his deferred wages on retiring from football last November.

The Blaugrana were €1.35 billion in debt when they lost Lionel Messi on a free transfer to PSG in the summer of 2021; spent €150m last summer before being knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage, and are now resorting to financial 'super levers' to get them out of trouble.

READ: Barcelona ready to active €250m super lever to kickstart summer transfers

The latest move could see the club sell 49 per cent of Barca Licensing & Merchandise (BLM), according to Forbes, something that could raise up to €250m.

But the club remain keen to get some big earners off their books, especially ones no longer getting their game, and that is the situation Alba find himself in.

The problem for Barca is that they owe the left-back some €38m according to Sport, and the player has no intention of walking away like Pique did.

READ: Revealed: Why Pique held off retirement to help Barcelona

Barca owe Alba €38m

"Barca's objective is to save the €38 million they agreed, with [Josep Maria] Bartomeu and [Joan] Laporta, to pay the player, not counting the amoung he had already waived," write Sport.

Barca tried to force through a move to Inter Milan last summer, but the long-time Spain international refused to budge.

The report highlights that Barca would be willing to top up the difference between his next contract at another club and his existing, €28m per year before tax one, at Camp Nou, but Alba is going nowhere.

Alba is 34 later this month, but has another year to run on his existing deal after this season. He is also expecting his third child this summer, and has no intention of uprooting his family.