A
s LionelMessiboardedhis
private jetinIbizatoreturn
toBarcelona,hebelieved
hewouldbesigningthe
contractthatwouldallowhimtosee
outhiscareeratthe NouCamp.
HisfirstflighttotheCatalancapital
hadbeenasa 13-year-old,in2000,
whenhesleptonthe journeyfrom
Buenos Airesaheadof a trialatBarca.
Sofearfulweretheclubthatthe
talentedteenagermay have signed
elsewhere,directorCharlyRexach,
withnootherpaperathand,offered
a writtencontractona papernapkin.
Fast-forward 21 yearsandthere
would be no papernapkinand no
contractoffer;there could notbe.The
Argentinewastoldby clubpresident
JoanLaportathat,afteraclub-record
778 first-teamappearancesanda club-
record 6 72 goals (a figuresoabsurd,it
ishigherthanthesumsof thesecond,
third andfourthhighestscorersforthe
clubcombined),there wouldbeno
more. There couldbenomore.
Barca areinaneconomiccrisis;their
clubdebtstandsat an eye-watering
€1. 35 billion– a figurethathasgrown
by€ 200 millionsinceJanuary,despite
variouscost-savingmeasures.
Daysafter Messireturnedhome,
theclubreleasedthenewsthatstunned
thesporting world:“LionelMessiwillnot
continueat Barcelona.” A notablybrief
andsomewhatemotionlessstatement
addedthat“financialandstructural
obstacles”from“LaLigaregulations”
hadensuredthatrenewingMessi’s
contractwas simplynotpossible.ADÉU, LEO
ThefalloutfromLionelMessi’sdeparturefromBarcelonatoParisSaint-Germaincontinues.ColinMillarreports...The 34 -year-oldheldanemotional
farewellpress conferencethree days
later, in whichhesaidthathis“blood
rancold”afterhearingthenews,
tellingreporters:“Iofferedto reduce
mysalaryby 50 percentandthey
didn’taskmefor anythingelse.
“Itisnottruethattheyaskedme
foranythingmore.I onlyknowthatit
wasnotpossiblebecauseofLaLiga,
becausethe clubdidnotwantto
gointo more debt.”
Thereasonfor thisisthatBarcaare
currently operatingabovetheirsalary
limit– acapimposedbyLaLiga,as
voted forbyits member clubs,that
meansall clubsmustoperate within
theirspendingcapabilities.
Thesebudgetarylimitsforeachclub
arecalculatedbasedontheirearnings,
revenuestreams,profitsandlosses,
overheadcosts, investments, anddebt
repayments.Auditsare carriedouton
thefinancialhealthof everyclub,with
thelimits designedtoensure their
growthand spendingaresustainable
andfor alloutgoingsto be justified
byincome.
Barca’sspirallingclubdebtsmean
thattheirbudgetfor the 2021 -22
campaignisprojectedtobecapped
at€ 160 m– theclosest comparison
toanEnglishPremierLeagueclubis
Everton,wholastseason hada wage
billof€ 15 8.5m.Toputthisinto further
perspective,theCatalanclub’s wage
billin the 2019 -20campaignstood at
€ 671 m– thehighest in worldsport,
andover fourtimeswhatitistoday.
After theclosure of theJanuarySPECIAL
REPORT