'We lost the plot' - Barcelona chief makes STUNNING Neymar admission

Tom Weber

• 24 Jun 2023 18:32 BST
• 3 min read

Barcelona's economic vice president has made some eyebrow-raising comments regarding Neymar and the club's financial struggles.

The Blaugrana have been mired in economic plight for years. It cost them Lionel Messi - twice - and has forced other club legends to move on in order to help balance the books. 'Economic levers' have had to be activated and the in-house broadcaster shut down all just to allow Barcelona to register players.

Now, the club's economic vice president Eduard Romeu has claimed that all of these problems can be traced back to Neymar's arrival at the Camp Nou. The Brazilian was the hottest prospect on the planet when he made the switch from Santos in 2013 in a deal worth €88.2 million and he enjoyed a stunning time in Catalonia before ultimately departing for Paris Saint-Germain in a record-breaking €222m transfer.

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Despite Neymar's positive impact on the pitch - 105 goals in 186 games - his signing left a significant dent in Barcelona's budget and wage structure, and even his sale ultimately proved fatal, claims Romeu.

What did Romeu say?

In an 'informal meeting with journalists,' as relayed by MARCA, Romeu revealed: "Neymar’s arrival was the start of the problem, because everything afterwards was inflated due to making an exorbitant payment for a player who had just arrived. The madness starts when he leaves, we lost the plot."

This is in reference to the excessive sums splurged on the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele, who commanded a combined outlay of some €265m. A few years later, Barcelona spent €120m on Antoine Griezmann.

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Looking ahead to the future, Romeu wants to ensure that Barcelona can garner "recurring positive results without the use of levers," and that cuts, like those seen at Barca TV, will be necessary to achieve that. The in-house channel was "not sustainable, neither economically nor by viewership."