– From the outside it looks like a club that has done everything wrong and has to pay the price, but now it seems that Barcelona are enjoying themselves as if they were rich. One is startled, but it shows that the super clubs can never fail, says news’s football writer Thore Haugstad about the situation. If you turn back the clock a few years, there was a full-blown crisis in Barcelona. For many years it was a club with healthy club operations, but then blood-red numbers suddenly appeared in 2020 and 2021. This led to the total debt more than tripling within five years, and it stands at around 12 billion. Only Chelsea and Tottenham will have higher debts. As a result of a strict regulation around Financial Fair Play and salary caps in Spanish football, they could not extend the contract with Lionel Messi. The season that followed will probably be seen by many as strange, when many young players were given the chance and the new signings were obtained either at too low a price or free of charge. The players who came in were not of the same caliber as one was used to, and last season they were far from winning a trophy. The Bayern boss reacts But now, apparently, most things have turned around. At the time of writing, the Catalans have signed Franck Kessié (AC Milan), Andreas Christensen (Chelsea), Raphinha (Leeds), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) and Jules Koundé (Sevilla). In addition, the club has finally renewed the contract of Ousmane Dembélé – a player “everyone” thought would leave the club due to a lack of agreement on a new contract. It should be said that only Raphinha, Lewandowski and Koundé have a transfer fee attached to them, but the total amount is around 1.5 billion. Only Philippe Coutinho and Rey Manaj have been sold for a sum of money. In total, he stands at around 225 million. It has caused several people to react, including Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann. – Barcelona is the only club without money, but suddenly they buy who they want. I don’t know how they do it. It is quite strange and quite sick, Nagelsmann recently told Bild. OUT AGAINST BARCA: Julian Nagelsmann is unable to understand how Barcelona picked up Bayern Munich’s biggest star. Photo: CHRISTOF STACHE / AFP He has recently lost his big star striker, and the transfer became official on 19 July. Former Manchester United player and now Sky Sports expert Gary Neville also reacts strongly to the actions of the club this summer. – Why does Barcelona still work for the Super League? This is the reason. A desperate club with 1.2 billion pounds in debt is selling future income to spend money on players today, and “hopes” it pays off, writes Neville on Twitter. Barcelona president Joan Laporta believes Nagelsmann and Neville’s statements testify to a lack of knowledge and information. He even believes that someone has distorted reality. – It is true that a year ago we were in a critical situation, but we are a 122-year-old club with very large ownership shares. They were not aware of the strength and support that this club has, says Laporta, according to Spanish AS. This is how they turned the situation around But Barcelona and their president Joan Laporta have taken some rather important steps that give them room to maneuver in the transfer market. Since he took over in March 2021, much of the focus has been on getting out of the economic crisis as quickly as possible. This summer they have therefore sold 25 per cent of their TV rights for 25 years. In addition, they have announced that they hope to sell parts of the market rights, called BLM (Barca Licensing and Merchandising). The club has estimated that it generates a total of between 500 and 700 million euros, i.e. quite precisely between five and seven billion. CHARISMATIC: Barcelona’s relatively new president Joan Laporta has made a name for himself since he took over the crisis-stricken club. Here together with football icon Thierry Henry. Photo: Wilfredo Lee / AP It will also mean that Barcelona loses 25 percent of the annual TV income, because they have advanced the money. At the same time, this gives the Catalans more leeway in the transfer market. They get a higher salary cap and they probably avoided selling their biggest stars. – Laporta said a while back that the club was almost clinically dead, and it seems to be true. I can say that they dragged it a bit far, and by bringing in an old striker like Lewandowski, they are playing a high game, says Haugstad. Even though he thought Barcelona were going to try their hand at big names this summer, he still reacts to the scale. – I am a little surprised that so many people come in and that there are so many profiles, he admits. EXCITED: news’s football writer Thore Haugstad is happy to follow the “new” Barcelona. – Must Barcelona win something next season? – I actually don’t think so. One will have an interest in the club. Whether they win or come second in La Liga, or whether they win the Champions League or lose in the final, is not the most important thing. As long as they get interest in the purchase, people come to the stadium and buy kits, then there is something that makes money. Signing stars goes a long way. – The club went berserk But are these legal agreements and star signings healthy club management? Viaplay’s football commentator and La Liga expert Petter Veland is clear in his speech. – No, it is not healthy club management. Barcelona would not have done this if they had not been forced to do so. In the blink of an eye they lost Neymar (in 2017), the club went berserk and panicked. They sat with large sums of money and made very bad financial agreements, Veland explains to news. EXPLAINS GREPA: Petter Veland does not think what Barcelona is doing is healthy club management, but it has almost been necessary. Photo: Viasat And since then it has been a humbling Meisterliga exit against Liverpool, a 2-8 loss against Bayern Munich, disgruntled players and finally it culminated in Messi having to leave. Veland mentions the move already mentioned with the sale of TV rights to other companies, and also that the club changed the stadium name to Spotify Camp Nou. – If the “Luxusfallen” walked in and saw this, they would not appreciate the participants doing it that way. If the move does not yield a return, then you have made a bad choice of path where you have postponed the problem, the commentator believes.
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