Barcelona continues to have serious financial issues, despite the shocking exit of club legend Lionel Messi. However, it appears it's a lot more serious than anyone thought.
In a recent press conference, Barca president Joan Laporta revealed the La Liga giants are a whole €1.35 billion in debt, per Sky Sports. He also fully blamed former president Josep Bartomeu for this whole mess after he put Barcelona in the situation before stepping down last year.
The amount of money that salaries take up at the club is even more concerning:
🗨 @JoanLaportaFCB: ❝Our salaries represent 103% of the Club's total income. That's 20-25% more than our competitors.❞ pic.twitter.com/8e1pV3tBRX
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) August 16, 2021
Here's part of his statement:
“Barcelona has a negative net worth of €451m – it is a terrible inheritance. What has been happening is very worrying.
“Bartomeu's (open) letter is an effort to justify management that is unjustifiable. It is an exercise in desperation. They are responsible for everything until March 7. They will not escape their doing.”
As you can see, Messi had to go because if he did stay, despite taking a pay cut, the Catalans would've been in even more financial turmoil. Laporta also continued to say that more players within the squad will need to lower their salaries in order to help the club get out of the gutter.
Gerard Pique just agreed to a decreased salary in order to officially register Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia prior to Sunday's league opener against Real Sociedad. Barcelona looked extremely impressive, burying their opponents 4-2.
As Laporta noted, Bartomeu will be held accountable for putting such a decorated and successful club in serious trouble.
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