Barcelona and the Crippling Cost of Success
But Barcelona are staying on the sidelines for their recent history, resulting in impulsive management, hasty decisions and imminent contracts over the years. Over the years, rising revenue helped the paper on its worst mistakes, but Coronavirus has now replaced mathematics.
A former board member believes the epidemic will eventually cost the team more than half a billion dollars in revenue. Its pay bill is the highest in Europe. It has already broken debt covenants that were agreed upon with its creditors, which would almost certainly mean higher interest costs in the future.
The result is that the club that brought in more money than any other in world football now faces a crisis: not only a crushed financial squeeze, but a controversial presidential election and potentially the loss of its crown jewel, Messi. Too. Dembélé’s own early discovery, among others, is only part of how it got here.
Even as Bartomu finalized that deal, in August 2017, Barcelona knew it had dagged. The club earned $ 222 million from Neymar’s sales the week before and now needed a lucrative signing to change the conversation. However, every seller in Europe knew that Barcelona is cash-rich and time-poor. “Your negotiating position is weak,” said Jordi Moix, Bartomu’s former vice president for economic affairs. “They are waiting for you.”
If any club could afford the overpay, however, it was Barcelona. Over the past decade, it had transformed not only into the best team in the world – winning three Champions League titles in seven years – but also its biggest moneymaking machine.
Its revenues reached close to the target of one billion euros set by Bartomu in 2015. It gained the dollar at least – in 2019, two years ahead of the mark. Plans for a quiet recreation and leisure district around the team’s stadium and Barcelona launch Abhinav Hub The river of money kept flowing.
At the same time, however, the club was undergoing an increasingly fragile financial strait. There is another billion dollar watermark that has passed it: Its total debt, including the amount of banks, tax officials, rival teams and its own players, has exceeded 1.1 billion euros.
