Barcelona players have not received payments due in December

To add to the off-field drama underway at Barcelona this season, it has now emerged that the club's players have not been paid one of the two annual payments they receive from the club.

According to a report from El Partizado de COPE, the Barcelona players are generally paid in two instalments - one in December, and the other in June.

With the club mired in deep financial trouble, the players have reportedly not received that payment that they were supposed to receive last month.

However, it has also been reported that the club has assured the players that the outstanding payments will be cleared by February.

These developments are not a surprise, given the recent revelations that Barcelona are on the verge of bankruptcy. A recent report in El Mundo claimed that out of the €1,173m debt that the club faces at the moment, €266m is due by June 30, including €90m to Goldman Sachs.

Barcelona are on the verge of total bankruptcy. The club are €1,173M in debt in total; a sum of €730M of the debt is owed short term and €266M is owed to banks by June 30th which must be paid, €90M of which is owed directly to Goldman Sachs. [el mundo via @footballespana_] pic.twitter.com/tcdbYXBHCa

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) January 25, 2021

The report also highlighted how Barcelona's wage bill still is in violation of La Liga rules. The league rules permit only 70 per cent of the total club income going towards player wages, but at this point, that figure at Barcelona stands at 74 per cent.

For the 2018-19 season, revenues at Barcelona were down 14 per cent, but their expenses barely reduced by two per cent. With the COVID-19 pandemic's effects set to be felt for a long time, there is a problem for Barcelona, who are predicting to have an income of €828m for the current fiscal year.

There was also a recent report from La Vanguardia last week, which highlighted how the Blaugrana must repay €420m in debt this year or face insolvency.

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Interim Barcelona president says he would have sold Lionel Messi in the summer

Lionel Messi should have been sold in the summer, according to the interim Barcelona president

Last week, in an interview to Marca, interim Barcelona president Carles Tusquets said that the club would have benefited from selling Lionel Messi in the summer.

Tusquets termed the club's current financial position as "lousy", and said that economically, it was the prudent decision to have sold Messi in the summer.

FC Barcelona without Lionel Messi this season 😳5 wins1 draw 0 losses pic.twitter.com/bkn9EkD1f4

— International Champions Cup (@IntChampionsCup) January 26, 2021

"Economically speaking, last summer I would have sold Messi. It would have been desirable. For what you get in and for what you save. La Liga demands salary limits," he said.

Tusquets reiterated the fact that the players would not be paid what they were owed in December, and that the payment would be made in February.

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