Barcelona could suffer financially if they fail to make it through to the next stage of the Champions League.
According to Spanish news outlet Mundo Deportivo, the Camp Nou club will lose £18.4 million if they fail to reach the quarter-finals of the tournament.
Barcelona splashed out £132 million in the summer transfer window in a bid to rebuild the team. But for them to pay for the spending, they have budgeted for the team to at least reach the last eight in the Champions League.
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It is believed that if they reach the round of 16, Barcelona would bank around £8.4 million, with a further £9.3 million if they reach the quarter-finals. A run to the semi-finals will add £11 million to the prize money and a further £13.6 or 17.5 million if they win the competition or finish as runners-up.
However, qualification to the next round is now out of Barcelona’s hands after they failed to beat Inter Milan at the Camp Nou on Wednesday night.
Xavi’s side went ahead after 40 minutes thanks to a goal by Ousmane Dembele.
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Despite a promising first half, things began to unravel in the second period as goals from Nicolo Barella and Lautaro Martinez spun the game on its head.
With elimination beckoning, Robert Lewandowski scored to make it 2-2 in the 82nd minute.
Robin Gosens then notched Inter back in front with one minute to play. It looked like Barcelona were going to be demoted to the Europa League but Lewandowski came up trumps again as he salvaged a point to keep his side’s thin hopes alive.
As a result, Barcelona will need to win their two remaining games and hope Inter falter against Bayern Munich and Viktoria Plzen.
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A win for the Italian side against Plzen will confirm Barcelona’s second successive group-stage exit in the Champions league.
Xavi was very critical of his side during his post-match interview. He said: “I’m very disappointed, sad, frustrated, I’m angry. I have to be self-critical, we don’t deserve to play in the Champions League. It hurts me, but it’s the truth.
“I apologise to the fans because we made the mistakes, we had set our minds not to fail, and we have failed, so we have to apologise to the fans, who have been wonderful. I want to tell them that we will work to turn this situation around and win titles.”
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Barcelona, Champions League, Xavi