Barcelona president Joan Laporta has in a press conference today highlighted the financial status of the club revealing the scale of their current debt.
The loss of Lionel Messi due to a lack of funds, new signing Sergio Aguero being ruled out for several weeks and the club’s mountain of debt has been an unsettled period for the Catalan club.
After his reappointment as president in March 2021, Laporta has been handed a seemingly insuperable task to rebuild the club’s fortunes both on and off the pitch.
The 59-year old blamed his predecessor Josep Bartomeu for a ‘terrible inheritance’ which he says sees club salaries representing 103 per cent of income at the Nou Camp.
Laporta revealed that Barça’s debt is €1.35billion (£1.15bn), an increase of £170million from January, and that more pay cuts would be needed by star players.
He said: “Our salaries represent 103 per cent of the club’s total income. That’s 20-25 per cent more than our competitors.
“The first thing we had to do when we arrived was to ask for a loan of 80million euros because otherwise, we could not pay the salaries. The previous regime was full of lies.
“We also found that we had to do some urgent repairs to the Camp Nou because otherwise, it posed a risk to the attending fans. We also found out that the club had already received 50 per cent of the TV rights fees in advance.”
“We found the wage policy in the form of an inverted pyramid – veterans on long contracts and youngsters on short deal. There were no wages cuts – lies.
“We have found that disproportionate payments have been made to intermediaries, not even agents.”
Laporta continued: “Barcelona has a negative net worth of 451million euros – it is a terrible inheritance. What has been happening is very worrying.
“Bartomeu’s (open) letter is an effort to justify management that is unjustifiable. It is an exercise in desperation. They are responsible for everything until March 7. They will not escape their doing.
“They spent the €222million from Neymar’s transfer at the speed of light.
“We have found ourselves in a difficult situation to renegotiate the players’ contracts.
“I thank Pique for his willingness to help the club. His reduction has helped us to register players,” Laporta said.
“We can register Kun (Sergio Aguero) with the agreement we plan to have with the other players. I hope the other captains act like Pique.”
The club began their season in entertaining fashion beating Real Sociedad 4-2 at the Camp Nou thanks to a brace from Martin Braithwaite and goals from Gerard Pique and Sergi Roberto.