BLEAK Barcelona’s debt grows to £1.15billion as Joan Laporta outlines dire financial situation and asks stars to take ANOTHER pay cut
Barcelona president Joan Laporta laid bare the club’s dire financial circumstances in a press conference where he revealed the scale of their current debt.
It’s been a turbulent time to say the least for the Catalan club. 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.
After his reappointment as president in March 2021, Laporta has been handed a seemingly insurmountable task of rebuilding the club’s fortunes both on and off the pitch.
Laporta 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.
He 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.
Laporta 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.”
Laporte continued: “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.
