Barcelona Need '€500 Million To Save The Club', Vice President Claims
The extent of Barcelona's dire financial situation has been revealed by the club's vice president.
Barcelona vice president Eduard Romeu believes a sum of €500 million (£427 million) is required to save the club from the mess they find themselves in.
The Blaugrana are seriously strapped for cash, to the point where they are unable to register two new signings because they do not have the funds to so.
Free transfers for AC Milan midfielder and Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen have already been wrapped up but the club's debt has reached a staggering €1 billion.
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Star players like Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Gerard Pique had to take pay cuts to La Liga's salary cap requirements are met and others such as Antoine Griezmann, Emerson Royal, Junior Firpo and Miralem Pjanic were offloaded in an attempt to balance the books.
Romeu has opened up about the financial situation Barca are facing and he believes half a billion euros is needed for them to be comfortable again.
"The number doing the most damage is asset imbalance,” he told Spanish outlet Sport, as per The Athletic.
“The negative capital of €500 million.
“You could add €150m to that in losses this season if we didn’t do anything.
“I said it before, if someone wants give me €500 million... That is what we need to save Barca.”
It was reported that Barca still owed £98 million in transfer fees for four players in October, while the Catalan outfit were paying €8 million to a scout based in South America under the previous regime.
A lucrative four-year €280 million sponsorship deal with music streaming giants Spotify will begin in July and, in addition to the Swedish company's logo gracing shirts and training kit, includes rebanding Barcelona's iconic stadium to the 'Spotify Camp Nou'.
In recent times, the La Liga giants have been allowing fans to play on the pitch and even get married at their ground for a fee, leading to ridicule from rival fans.
It is believed that Barca might just have to sell one of their big names this summer and Frenkie de Jong, heavily linked with Manchester United, is said to be one of the main candidates.
Josh Lawless