Inside Barcelona’s financial mess: How Champions League exit could complicate matters – report

A recent report from The Athletic has offered detailed insights into FC Barcelona’s financial mess and the troubled years that lie ahead, in the aftermath of their recent 3-3 defeat with Inter Milan – a result that more or less confirmed their elimination from the group stages of the UEFA Champions League.

While Barcelona’s summer was all about economic levers and comments from the board members that the club are financially stable once again, the club’s shocking performance in the Champions League serves as an indicator of the grim years that is to come.

Such was hinted during the AGM meeting last week, with the club’s financial vice-president Edouard Romeu admitting that the club would have lost €106 million without the income from the levers. This year, the loss would be around €210 million.

It was a reminder of who the club are punching above its weight, at least from a financial perspective. Indeed, Barcelona spent €518 million on wages and amortised transfers last season. This time around, the value has increased to €656 million, following the addition of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde, among others.

A key part of Barcelona’s problem when it comes to their inflated salary expenses is that the club are overpaying for a slew of veteran stars of the past, who have not added any value to the team this season.

The likes of Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets and Marc-Andre ter Stegen cost the club more than €40 million a year through salaries. But among them, only ter Stegen has been of real value, thanks to his brilliant start to the campaign.

As for Pique and Busquets, their liability was exposed during the draw with Inter Milan – performances that could lead Xavi Hernandez to look for alternatives within the team, ahead of the upcoming El Clasico.

In addition to inflated salaries, Barcelona owe money through unpaid transfer fees and deferred salaries for many players who have already left the club. The list includes Philippe Coutinho, Miralem Pjanic and Neto Murara. According to the accounts published last week, a total of €108 million of dues for these players are to be paid during the 2022/23 campaign.

On the flip side, though, Barça have been able to increase its income through commercials and sponsorships, to a figure of €369 million, up from last year’s €267 million. The club have also registered a 19% increase in spectators at Camp Nou compared to last season.

However, these small victories are offset by the losses incurred by the club in light of their likely elimination from the Champions League, which could see Barcelona miss out on €20 million, at the very least.

The Blaugrana had prepared the budget for the 2022/23 season, with progression until the quarter-finals of the competition as the objective. And wining the Europa League would also not cover for those losses.

In addition, Barça are also due to pay 25% of their income to Sixth Street from this season onwards, meaning a figure of around €41 million. The club have other liabilities as well, including the Espai Barça project that will see Barcelona repay €1.5 billion in 25 years, once the new stadium is completed.

As part of the instalments, Barcelona will have to pay €50 million next season and with Camp Nou under construction, the team will have to play in the much smaller Estadi Montjuic, which has a capacity of around 55,000. So, things certainly look grim for the Blaugrana on the financial front.

However, all is not lost for Barcelona just yet. Despite their likely elimination from the UCL, they remain one of the top contenders to reclaim the league title this season and a win against Real Madrid this weekend could go a long way in reasserting the belief among the troops, as they look to perform well during the remainder of the campaign.