![]() It is not that there weren’t talented youngsters in the team. And though Barcelona continues to use the ideologies of the revolutionary Johan Cruyff to groom its youth squads, fans have blamed the club hierarchy for signing big when there was a deficit, rather than promoting and developing youth. History shows that Barcelona has always succeeded when products from its famed La Masia youth academy formed the core of the squad. But the big signings of Kounde, Lewandowski, Raphinha, and Kessie in a single transfer window prove that the club no longer wants to build on players who have come through the system.įile picture of Lionel Messi tearing up during his farewell press conference at Barcelona’s Nou Camp on August 8, 2021 Possession of the football was the hallmark of the Golden Generation under Pep Guardiola between 20, and Luis Enrique’s treble-winning 2015 side benefited from it, too. Over the years, the club has strayed from its long-held identity as a team that was built on the passing ability of players. But the Argentine was leaving a franchise that was now functioning very differently from the one that he joined. It was a teary exit for Messi after over 15 years of service for the club. Messi’s contract had ended and the club just could not afford a new one for the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner. But the reality could catch up with the club, as the team continues to be affected by the off-field problems.įor all the action that happened in the summer transfer window, nothing could perhaps top the way the club’s greatest player and asset, Lionel Messi, was shunted out last year. ![]() For super clubs like Barcelona, this luxury is afforded to them by decades of success and brand building. The club could continue to pledge yet suspend debt repayments for a few more years while continuing to bolster the squad with new signings and keep its audiences excited. ![]() By their manoeuvers, Laporta, the club’s director of sport Mateu Alemany and sporting advisor Jordi Cruyff have made it clear that the club prioritises immediate success to make its way out of the woods of financial stress. Laporta inherited the financial mess left behind by predecessor Josep Bartomeu and has publicly spoken about the economic ‘levers’ - selling of club assets to raise funds and clear the debt - to reassure fans and stakeholders that all hope is not lost. There were free transfers, too, of players who are presumably paid high wages, including defender Andreas Christensen, midfielder Franck Kessie, and defender Hector Bellerin.īarcelona President Joan Laporta has played a large part in both the financial and transfer activity since his return to presidency last year. This ‘salary limit’ is essentially a calculation of revenue against the value of the squad.īarcelona has gone about circumventing the money problems by restructuring short-term debt into long-term debt by signing huge sponsorship deals – including a €280-million one with Spotify – borrowing €600 million from Goldman Sachs and partial sale of club assets, such as its TV rights and in-house production studio.įC Barcelona President Joan Laporta with new signing Jules Kounde sign contracts during the defender’s unveiling on August 1, 2022Īll this financial manoeuvring finally allowed the club to register world-class signings such as Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich, Raphinha from Leeds United, and Jules Kounde from Sevilla for a reported sum of €140 million. To sum up Barcelona’s troubles, the club’s debt rose to €1.3 billion last year, and having crossed a stipulated ‘salary limit’, the club was blocked by the Spanish league – La Liga – from registering a host of new players ahead of the 2022-23 season. It’s kind of weird, kind of crazy,” Bayern Munich head coach Julian Nagelsmann said at a press conference. “Barcelona are the only club that has no money but then. But, Barcelona’s activity was noteworthy, because of the crises this highly successful club has gotten into. Germain, another big-spending club, also went about offloading dead weight on deadline day. It is not uncommon for European football clubs to send off players towards the end of a transfer window. On the final day of the recent summer transfer window, Barcelona was the trader that wheeled in a cart filled with shiny merchandise in a desperate attempt to offload some quality wares at any cost, to balance the books after months of burning cash in the market – cash that they apparently do not have. and then, there’s Football Club Barcelona in 2022. There are the panic buyers, the freeloaders, the content-with-my-lot window shoppers, the loaners. If every football transfer deadline day had played out in a physical market, one would notice distinct characters caught in the mad rush to complete deals before the window slammed shut.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |