Barcelona sits on top of the Spanish League ahead of arch-nemesis Real Madrid. It has been a tough past couple of years for the Catalan side owing to financial issues. Poor financial management led to the dismissal of the previous board led by ex-president Josep Maria Bartomeu(2013-2020 season) whose heavy spending policy left the club with a reported debt of $1 billion.
Joan Laporta was the former Barcelona president and he was the one who came to the club’s rescue by taking up his old position. He brought in investments and restructured their debt which not only took away their pressure but even allowed them to spend heavily in the summer.
However, despite heavy spending in the summer of 2022, many of the deals were amortized. This is when the transfer cost of the player is spread over his entire contract time.
Bartomeu’s poor financial management led to Messi’s departure as the club was unable to renew his contract due to the strict La Liga spending rules. Even though Laporta was president when Messi left, it is thought to be Bartomeu’s recklessness that made Laporta helpless. Laporta also blames then La Liga president Javier Tebas.
Why Barcelona’s Bartomeu Corruption case is in the headlines once again
Bartomeu may be long gone but the effects of his actions on the club still live on. He is once again in the headlines as Barcelona and the ex-president have been charged with corruption cases for reportedly sending money to referees during the 2001 to 2018 period.
The money reported to be in the region of £7.4m went to a company owned by Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, one of the former vice presidents of the Spanish refereeing committee. The club, former officials, and Jose Maria were present in the charge sheet.
Alongside Bartomeu, another former president Sandro Rosell (who led the club from 2010 to 2014) has also been charged. Members of Bartomeu’s squad, Oscar Grau and Albert Soler, have also been charged. This incident has shocked the club, its fans, and the whole football world in general.
Barcelona crashed out of both the Champions League and Europa League. They failed to get past the group stages of the UCL and then lost over two legs against Manchester United. The Blugrana sit 8 points clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga and hope to win back the Spanish title from Real’s grips in Xavi’s first full season.
What do you think will happen to those charged? What will happen to Barcelona? Leave your thoughts down below.
