Barcelona’s financial crisis deepens, on the verge of bankruptcy

Barcelona’s financial crisis continues to deepen as the Blaugrana declares a debt of €1.17billion, owed in short term loans to banks and clubs in transfer fees.

The Catalan club owes a total of €1,173 million in debt according to El Mundo. Of that, €730 million is said to be due in the short term, and worse, €266 million of that is owed to banks before July 30th.

The lion’s share (€90 million) of that last part owed to banks is owed to Goldman Sachs. The club is reportedly owing players January salary and also owe transfer fees to clubs like Liverpool, Ajax and Bordeaux.

The wage bill reportedly occupies 74 percent of the club’s total income, which is above the league limit of 70 percent. Revenues for 2018-19 stood at €990 million, but they fell to €855 million last year, due to the coronavirus crisis. Expenses were barely reduced, on the other hand, going from €973 to €955 million, which represents only a 2 percent decrease.

For the current fiscal year, Barcelona projects to have revenues of €828 million against expenses of €796 million.

While the coronavirus crisis has hurt all teams in Europe, Barcelona are said to be losing a lot more money than other big clubs. Experts paint a worrying picture for the Catalan giants.

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