Dwindling Finances May Affect Barcelona's Transfers
Spanish champions Barcelona have had to take a sizeable loan to solve its current financial problems. The club claims to be using the money to pay players' wages for the month of June, but the financial turmoil also points to wider problems with the club.
Barcelona president Sandro Rosell, who took over the position from Joan Laporta last week, found a club in a weak financial situation. Upon taking office, Rosell secured a €149 million loan and sold defender Dmytro Chygrynskiy back to his former club Shakhtar Donetsk.
"We found a club in debt, with liquidity problems. At this point we have to take a loan to pay the wages of the players," said Rosell to Spanish publication Sport.
But some doubt has been cast over whether €149 million, an astronomical cost of one month’s of wages even for big-spending Barcelona, was really used only to pay players’ wages. The sale of Chygrynskiy, whose departure had reportedly not been desired by coach Pep Guardiola, leaves question marks surrounding the state of the club’s finances.
Last week, Barcelona sold defensive midfielder Yaya Touré to English club Manchester City for €24 million, but evidently the proceeds from the sale were not enough to salvage its finances.
Speaking with Sport, Rosell wished to ensure its readers that these measures were not an act of desperation, but rather the completion of a loan that had been planned by the previous club board for some time.
"The board had already begun this process. We followed the same path - the same banks, the same target but with a different business plan. They [Laporta's board] also knew they needed this credit," he said. Rosell also insisted that Barcelona would still have up to €50m to spend on new players in the transfer market.
In June, the club made its first major signing ahead of the new season, paying Spanish side Valencia €40 for its star striker David Villa. Villa, set to make a real impact on an already star-studded Barcelona squad in the coming season, is currently Spain’s top scorer in the World Cup.
But Barcelona’s transfer targets did not end with their acquisition of Villa. Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas, who played for Barcelona until he moved to the London club at age 16, has long been a target for the Catalan side.
However, with Arsenal so reliant on their 23 year-old captain, it is assumed that the club will demand no less than €50m for the player. The amount is equal to Barcelona’s proclaimed total budget for new signings. Barcelona are already said to have had a €30m bid for Fabregas rejected in June.
But with Barcelona’s finances seemingly unstable, it is uncertain whether the club will be able to complete the signing they have been looking to make for several seasons. Fabregas, currently representing Spain in South Africa, has said he will not discuss his future until after the World Cup.
Arsenal’s passing genius Fabregas has refused to rule out a move to Barcelona, which he has claimed to be the only club for which he would leave the London team.
Another transfer target for the Catalan side is Liverpool’s Argentine midfielder Javier Mascherano. A defensive holding midfielder, it is thought that Mascherano would make an adequate replacement for the recently departed Touré.
But that deal has also been called into question, despite new president Rosell expressing confidence in the club’s finances. "The banks know that we have a business plan that will allow them to recover the money,” he told Sport.
“The club is not bankrupt because it generates income," Rosell added.
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