Barcelona attempted to bribe a UEFA official to sanction Financial Fair Play allegations against Manchester City in 2020, according to a new report.
The Spanish club have suffered from substantial amounts of debt since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Poor decisions in the transfer market and handing massive paychecks across the squad have forced the club into taking loans to introduce fresh signings and recover from the financial crisis.
The departure of Lionel Messi to Paris Saint-Germain last summer was a repercussion of poor planning on a revenue front that deprived the Catalan side to register the Argentinian in the squad.
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Whilst the club have their hands full in trying to sort the mess they've made, many have been stunned by the moves Barcelona have made in the summer.
From tying Ousmane Dembele to fresh terms to signing Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde and Raphinha ahead of the new season, Barcelona have shown they are ready to invest further in the squad to relieve their troubles.
Frenkie de Jong has been widely linked with a move to Manchester United all summer following the arrival of Erik ten Hag.
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The Blaugrana would ideally want to cash in on de Jong to reduce their wage bill, which would aid them in registering their new signings.
However, with de Jong owed €17 million in deferred wages, it remains to be seen how Barcelona manage to register their fresh acquisitions with a week left before the new season gets underway.
Having made a series of eye-catching signings already this summer, Barcelona have been desperate to add Manchester City's Bernardo Silva to their ranks as a replacement for de Jong.
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Silva is believed to have wanted to leave the Premier League champions in recent years but the financial restraints of the COVID-19 pandemic has made a possible move all but nearly impossible for the Portuguese.
Barcelona will take on Manchester City in a charity friendly fixture on August 24 at the Spotify Camp Nou in honour of Juan Carlos Unzue - former Barcelona player and assistant coach - and to raise funds for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) awareness.
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According to a new report by The Athletic, a Barcelona official attempted to bribe a UEFA official into sanctioning Financial Fair Play (FFP) allegations against Manchester City and PSG in February 2020.
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It has been reported that Barcelona were complaining about UEFA's light touch on the above-mentioned clubs owing to the source of a majority of their revenue.
The Barcelona official in question, who met the UEFA official for dinner, believed the La Liga club would have struggled to compete with the financial muscle of City and PSG.
It is worth noting UEFA have responded to The Athletic saying there are unaware of the above meeting being conducted and that Barcelona were approached for comment.
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Interestingly, it was in February 2020 that Manchester City were banned from the Champions League by UEFA for two years for a serious breach of FFP rules and for failing to co-operate during the investigation.
However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in July that year lifted the two-year ban imposed on City and reduced their fine from €30 million to €10 million.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Manchester City, Premier League, La Liga, Barcelona, UEFA, Champions League