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Barcelona seem to be in all kinds of trouble and that's just off the pitch, as per Goal.com. The Catalan club have released their official financial statements and deep trouble would be describing their situation rather kindly.
As per the financial statements, Barcelona have run up a staggering debt, which currently stands at €1.2 billion. Additionally, up to €730 million of that debt is believed to be short-term, with more than a third of it (€266 million) owed to banks, and will need to be paid urgently.
The €1.2 billion debt includes €126 million in the form of money owed to other clubs as a part of player purchase deals (parts of the transfer fee which were to be paid at a later time).
Barcelona are reportedly yet to complete the payments for several players such as Philippe Coutinho (€29 million still owed to Liverpool), Frenkie de Jong (€16 million still owed to Ajax), Malcom (€10 million still owed to Bordeaux), Arthur (€21 million still owed to Gremio) and Arturo Vidal (€11 million still owed to Bayern Munich). Most of these payments are understood to be due by the end of June, although Barcelona may be forced to request for a delayed due date.
In terms of expenses, Barcelona's greatest form of outlay happens to be player wages - accrued to be 74% of the club's income. Notably, LaLiga expects all clubs in the competition to keep their wage bill under 70% of income.
While Barcelona's financial situation was already worrisome due to mismanagement, the pandemic has only exacerbated it and how. While clubs all around the world are losing money due to the absence of fans in stadiums and reduced broadcast revenue, among other reasons, Barcelona seem to be bleeding out very rapidly. The LaLiga giants estimate their revenues to be €828 million and expenses to be €796 million for the current fiscal year - and experts are reportedly gravely concerned about Barcelona's predicament.
The only potentially (albeit marginally) alleviating factor would be the return of fans, with the club expected to make as much as €56 million in the remainder of the season even with a reduced crowd capacity. However, with uncertainty still very much clouding that aspect, Barcelona would be wise not to overly rely on it happening.
Barcelona seem to be struggling on the pitch as well
While financial turmoil grips the club behind the scenes, matters haven't quite been promising on the pitch either. Halfway through the season, Barcelona find themselves 3rd on the LaLiga table, 10 points off league-leaders Atletico Madrid (who also have a game in hand).
The Lionel Messi saga hasn't helped either, with the club's greatest superstar of all time seemingly on the verge of an exit. While his exit may ease the financial burden on the club, his absence will have a far greater impact on the club as a whole and its fans.
Things seem bad at Barcelona, but they could quickly get worse.
