Barcelona spent €150m to be Clasico & Champions League FLOPS
FT Desk
- Updated: 16 Oct 2022 11:09 CDT
- 5 min read
Barcelona completed one of the most remarkable transfer windows in memory as they splashed €153 million in the summer of 2022.
It was not so much the volume of spending that Barca undertook - five Premier League clubs, for instance, outspent them - it was more the context in which it was done.
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Barcelona were on the brink of bankruptcy going into the summer window, with debts surpassing €1.4 billion.
However, they sacrificed future income for immediate cash via so-called economic levers.
Barcelona raised a total of €582m by selling 25 per cent of the club's La Liga TV rights for the next 25 years to global investment firm Sixth Street.
They also sold 49.9 per cent of the club's Licensing and Merchandising (BLM).
This was supposed to balance the books and help pay off their debts.
Instead, they used a huge chunk of this cash to embark on a spending spree in a desperate attempt to close the gap on La Liga champions Real Madrid and in order to become Champions League challengers.
Who did Barcelona buy this summer?
They signed 34-year-old Bayern Munich goal machine Robert Lewandowski for €45m – a huge sum given his age. They also brought in Raphinha from Leeds for €58m, Jules Kounde for €50m, Pablo Torre for €5m plus the expensive free transfers (on big wages) of Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen and Marcos Alonso, as well as Hector Bellerin.
To put it simply, Barcelona mortgaged and gambled their entire future on winning a transfer market.
🤍 OUR HOUSE.
©️ OUR CAPTAIN.#ElClásico | @Benzema pic.twitter.com/c0sgFjVRRU— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) October 16, 2022
And where has it got them?
Well, we are in the middle of October now and Barcelona have disastrously failed their two major tests so far of the 2022-23 season.
On Wednesday, their 3-3 draw at home to Inter Milan means they are almost certainly out of the Champions League. If Inter beat Viktoria Plzen at home in the next matchday, Barca will be eliminated.
The Blaugrana have won just one of their four Champions League games, losing away to Bayern Munich and Inter.
This exit will have huge financial consequences on Barcelona as they were gambling on reaching the latter stages of the Champions League when budgeting for this summer’s transfer spending spree.
And to complete a disastrous week, they were beaten 3-1 by rivals Real Madrid in the Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.
Karim Benzema opened the scoring before Federico Valverde doubled the lead before half time.
It was a comfortable game for Madrid until substitute Ferran Torres set up a tense finish, only for Rodrygo to dispatch an injury-time penalty.
Real Madrid a level above Barcelona
The result means Madrid go three points clear of Barca at the top of La Liga after nine matchdays.
Of course, there is a long way to go in the title race and it is by no means certain that the Blancos will go on and retain their title.
But all the evidence on show so far is that Barcelona have spent an astronomical sum of money – a decision that puts the whole club’s future at risk – yet are no better than they were last season.
If Inter Milan defeat Viktoria Plzeň next matchday Barcelona will go down to the Europa League AGAIN 😲 pic.twitter.com/iEcBIpvC3R
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) October 12, 2022
They are still far weaker than Madrid and they are still not even good enough to escape their Champions League group.
Their defence is still shambolic. Despite their run of La Liga clean sheets before today, as soon as they have played strong opposition such as Madrid, Bayern or Inter, they have conceded at will.
Over €150m spent and the likes of Eric Garcia (who conceded a penalty today) and Gerard Pique are still getting game-time in big games. Over €150m spent and you still have no natural right-back and you sign Chelsea’s third-choice left back Marcos Alonso to be your first choice.
Barcelona paid €58m for Raphinha, yet so far he hasn’t been able to co-exist in the same team as Ousmane Dembele – who both want to play in the same position on the right wing.
And one shouldn’t forget the €65m signing in January of Ferran Torres, who is now merely a benchwarmer.
All that money spent and there are still gaping holes and positions that need strengthening. Not to mention question marks over manager Xavi, who has been outcoached twice this week by Simone Inzaghi and Carlo Ancelotti.
It’s been a dark week for Barcelona, and it could be about to get even darker.
