
<p>Spanish prosecutors have officially filed corruption charges against <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/barcelona-tv-schedule/">Barcelona</a> and their two former presidents. The club, under the leadership of Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, allegedly made payments to former <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/la-liga-tv-schedule/">LaLiga</a> referee Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira over a 17-year period.</p>



<p>Along with being a former Spanish league referee, Negreira was also the vice president of Spanish football’s refereeing committee from 1994-2018. He owned a private company called DASNIL 95 during this timeframe as well.</p>



<h5>Allegedly paid former ref millions </h5>



<p>Prosecutors claim that Rosell and Bartomeu made payments totaling around $7.8 million to DASNIL 95 between 2001 to 2018. Former club executives Oscar Grau and Albert Soler also feature on the list of defendants in the case. Rosell was the club’s president from 2010-2014, while Bartomeu was at the helm between 2014-2020.</p>



<p>All of these defendants, including Negreira, face charges of corruption in business, corruption in sport, false administration and the falsification of commercial documents. The prosecutors office released a statement on the ordeal on Friday.</p>



<p>“Through presidents Rosell and Bartomeu, Barcelona reached and maintained a strictly confidential verbal agreement with the defendant Negreira, so that, in his capacity as vice president of the refereeing committee and in exchange for money, he would carry out actions aimed at favoring Barcelona in the decision making of the referees in the matches played by the club, and thus in the results of the competitions,” <a href="https://www.espn.com/soccer/barcelona-espbarcelona/story/4897395/barcelona-former-presidents-face-corruption-charges-over-referee-payments-scandal" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">read</a> the statement.</p>



<p>Bartomeu, Negreira and the Catalan club have all previously admitted that a relationship existed between the parties. However, the trio all played down the manner of the connections. Barca even <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/barcelona-unlikely-to-be-sanctioned-for-payments-to-referee-20230216-WST-420103.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">claimed</a> that the payments to Negreira were “common practice” among professional clubs. They also stated that the former ref merely supplied various video reports.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">FC Barcelona paid money to the company of José María Enrique Negreira, the former Vice President of Spain’s Refereeing Committee.<br><br>In exchange for that money, they would receive favorable actions including the hiring of referees and refereeing decisions during matches. <a href="https://t.co/v4QBIfcKmL">pic.twitter.com/v4QBIfcKmL</a></p>— Zach Lowy (@ZachLowy) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachLowy/status/1634228967153582082?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2023</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h2>LaLiga President calls for Laporta to exit Barcelona amid corruption</h2>



<p>LaLiga boss Javier Tebas recently called for current Barca president Joan Laporta to step down amidst the allegations. Laporta has, however, refused these assertions and even claimed that Tebas is obsessed with his club. </p>



<p>“His obsession with Barca continues. I want to remind you that he is someone that has shown throughout his career that he is anti-Barcelona,” Laporta <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/laliga-boss-calls-for-barcelona-president-to-quit-over-corruption-20230221-WST-420713.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">stated</a> in February.</p>



<p>Earlier this week, Laporta reiterated his stance that Barca have done nothing wrong. “Let it be clear Barca have never bought referees and Barca have never had the intention of buying referees, absolutely never,” <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/64918604" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> Laporta on Tuesday.</p>



<p>Nevertheless, Laporta could be set to testify at the trial because he was also with the club between 2003-2010. Previously, LaLiga said statute of limitations tied the league’s hands on the issue. Barca could, however, still be in a heap of legal trouble.</p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / Eibner</em></p>


Spanish prosecutors have filed corruption charges against FC Barcelona, four of their former executives, and a former referee.

Barcelona face corruption charges for payments to former ref


<p>LaLiga president Javier Tebas has claimed that <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/barcelona-tv-schedule/">Barcelona</a> boss Joan Laporta should resign if he can’t offer a valid explanation over corruption and referee payments. The Spanish club has come under fire for <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/barcelona-unlikely-to-be-sanctioned-for-payments-to-referee-20230216-WST-420103.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">paying a former vice president of the Referees Committee</a> in the country. José María Enríquez Negreira, who was also previously a LaLiga referee, reportedly received over $8.5 million from Barca since 2003.</p>



<p>“If he does not explain what they were paying for, I think he should step down,” Tebas <a href="https://www.espn.com/soccer/barcelona-espbarcelona/story/4883465/barcelona-president-laporta-should-resign-if-theres-no-explanation-for-referee-scandal-tebas" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told</a> reporters on Monday.</p>



<p>“He has not offered a reasonable explanation for these payments. In Barca’s statement, it was as if every football club does the same. It is evident they do not. One thing is to have ex-referees [offering advice]; another is to have ex-referees who are on the refereeing committee.”</p>



<p>“[Laporta] will have to explain why, in his first spell as president, he did this. It is something I would like cleared up. It’s not just the three seasons [being investigated by tax office], it’s many more.”</p>



<h5>Club claims payments are common practice among top teams</h5>



<p>Barca <a href="https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/club/news/3065705/fc-barcelona-official-announcement" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">have insisted</a> that these payments were for “technical reports” on referees in Spain. They also suggested that these types of deals are “common practice” and many other clubs pay for similar reports. However, former Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/bartomeu-claims-ex-ref-attempted-to-extort-barca-20230218-WST-420417.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recently stated</a> that Negreira attempted to extort the club when the payments stopped. The ref threatened to expose his financial relationship with the team to league offices.</p>



<h2>Barcelona president labels LaLiga President obsessed over corruption</h2>



<p>Current Barca boss Joan Laporta has responded to Tebas’s comments regarding his possible resignation. The club president claimed that Tebas is obsessed with Barca. “Mr. Tebas has come to the fore again,” Laporta <a href="https://www.espn.com/soccer/barcelona-espbarcelona/story/4883465/barcelona-president-laporta-should-resign-if-theres-no-explanation-for-referee-scandal-tebas">said</a> on Tuesday. “We had been warned that he is promoting a campaign against Barca and against me as a person… now the mask has come off.”</p>



<p>“His obsession with Barca continues. I want to remind you that he is someone that has shown throughout his career that he is anti-Barcelona. In 2005, he didn’t want Messi to play for Barca and fought [his registration], for example.”</p>



<p>“He has not forgiven us for not signing the agreement with CVC, when we signed much better agreements for the club. He also can’t stand the Super League.”</p>



<p>“Mr. Tebas has now said that I should step down. His intention is to control Barca from afar. He is always trying to destabilize us. What do I say to him? That I won’t give him the pleasure. Barcelona is owned by the members.”</p>



<p>Barca will not be facing any significant sporting sanctions by <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/la-liga-tv-schedule/">LaLiga</a> for the payments. Sporting statute of limitations inside Spain is currently just three years and the payments go back at least five years.</p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / Marca</em></p>


LaLiga president Javier Tebas has suggested that Barcelona boss Joan Laporta should resign from the club over referee corruption claims.

LaLiga boss calls for Barcelona president to quit over corruption

<figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" src="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/barcelona-billion-debt.jpeg" alt="Barcelona&apos;s $1.5 billion debt" width="1200" height="675" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-342422" srcset="https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/08/16094711/barcelona-billion-debt.jpeg 1200w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/08/16094711/barcelona-billion-debt-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/08/16094711/barcelona-billion-debt-600x338.jpeg 600w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/08/16094711/barcelona-billion-debt-150x84.jpeg 150w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/08/16094711/barcelona-billion-debt-768x432.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"></figure>
<p>Lionel Messi’s move to Paris Saint Germain rocked the sports world. A sad, but necessary, move to try to reduce Barcelona’s dire situation of being $1.5 billion debt. Paris came to a standstill to welcome the Argentine. FC Barcelona did not have the winger as a first-team player for the first time in 16 years. LaLiga without the two biggest stars in the game.</p>
<p>Messi’s departure comes unexpectedly for seemingly everyone, including Barcelona management and the player himself. Lionel Messi returned to the club after his first major international success (winning the 2021 Copa América) ready to play. So ready to play that his pay would be slashed in half to free up finances for the club.</p>
<p>Yes, Messi would still make an estimated $85 million per year. If anything, it showed he was willing to work with the club to help them.</p>
<p>Newly elected Barcelona President Joan Laporta came in with two goals. The first one, to look good for fans, was to re-sign Messi. The Argentine’s contract expired at the end of the previous season, leaving him as a free agent. The second, more important goal, was to right Barcelona’s financial crisis.</p>
<p>FC Barcelona, among the biggest clubs in the world, sat billions of euros in debt. Despite a combined social media following of <a href="https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/club/news/2174175/barca-surpasses-400-million-followers-on-social-media" target="_blank" rel="noopener">400-million users</a> and the <a href="https://football-observatory.com/IMG/sites/mr/mr44/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">third-highest average attendance</a> in European soccer, the club was in economic ruin.</p>
<p>To estimate, most bookies say the club sat at $1.5 billion in the hole. As recently as August 16, the debt climbed to <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/2021/08/16/laporta-says-barcelona-finances-dramatic-but-future-bright/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$1.58 billion</a>, according to Laporta. Barcelona’s well-documented issues dominate headlines right now. Perhaps audiences enjoy watching the old guard fall. Or, on the flip side, fans enjoy seeing their comeback both on and off the field.</p>
<p>Regardless, these issues must be explained before they can be tackled and understood.</p>
<h3>Barcelona’s $1.5 billion debt in three pieces</h3>
<h5>1. Dodgy Transfers</h5>
<p>On face value, transfers are an easy way to spend or earn money, depending on value.</p>
<p>In Barcelona’s case, it’s an understatement to say they took risks in the transfer market when trying to acquire players. Some of this can be chalked up to simple bad luck with injuries. Ousmane Dembele came over from Borussia Dortmund for a base fee of 105 million euros. Add-ons and other fees brought that transfer up to <a href="https://www.marca.com/en/football/barcelona/2021/02/12/6026bc3d268e3ecf6a8b45da.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">125 million euros</a>. Dembele’s constant injury dilemmas and lack of success on the field illustrate the obvious failures in the transfer.</p>
<p>Similarly, Barcelona acquired Philippe Coutinho for a club-record fee of 160 million euros. Injuries did not help the Brazilian, who could not keep up form on the field. Often, Barcelona fans at Camp Nou would jeer the midfielder during games.</p>
<p>The same story exists for players like Samuel Umtiti, Andre Gomes and even Antoine Griezmann. Albeit, Griezmann’s performances are fine, they just do not warrant the 120 million euro transfer fee he required.</p>
<p>The only saving grace for Barcelona in terms of transfers is that they sold Neymar for a world-record fee of 222 million euros. Despite the influx of cash from the Parisians, debt persisted and worsened.</p>
<p>At the beginning of 2021, Barcelona’s transfer debt to other clubs sat at roughly <a href="https://www.sportbible.com/football/football-news-barcelona-reveal-how-much-they-owe-other-clubs-in-transfer-fees-20210125" target="_blank" rel="noopener">205 million euros</a>.</p>
<h5>2. COVID-19 and other ventures</h5>
<p>FC Barcelona, like millions of employees and companies around the world, suffered massive losses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
<p>In their end-of-year financial analysis, the club reported a <a href="https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/club/news/1856468/the-201920-economic-year-ends-with-losses-of-97-million-euros-caused-by-the-effects-of-covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener">net loss of 97 million euros</a> in the 2019-20 season. The club attributes much of that to the loss of a true matchday experience. The club pulled in revenues of 162 million euros from stadium and other venue operation. This is 24 percent less than their revenues from the season prior. Additionally, 249 million euros of revenue came from broadcasting rights for Barcelona games via LaLiga, Copa del Rey or the Champions League. This resembles a 35 million euro decrease from 2018/19.</p>
<p>Despite total revenues reaching 855 million euros, the club budgeted 1.047 billion euros in revenue. The club came up 18 percent short in their revenues.</p>
<p>To boot, FC Barcelona continued their investment in upgrades to their stadium, Camp Nou. The Espai Barca project, which is a plan to modernize the grounds and the stadium at Camp Nou, costs roughly <a href="https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/club/news/1856346/fc-barcelona-gets-a-unique-financing-model-for-espai-barca-based-on-incremental-revenue-generated-by-the-camp-nou-over-25-years" target="_blank" rel="noopener">50 million euros each year</a>, for the next 25 years.</p>
<p>While a welcome change, Espai Barca represents yet another cost that may be avoidable. Regardless, the 25- to 30-year deal with Goldman Sachs yields 50 million in expenses each year.</p>
<div id="attachment_342371" style="width: 1290px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><figure class="image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-342371" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-342371 size-full" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20210818_CMS_342353_Camp-Nou_48c0acc4.webp&amp;width=1280&amp;height=720" alt="" width="1280" height="720" srcset="https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/08/16094723/Camp-Nou.jpg 1280w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/08/16094723/Camp-Nou-300x169.jpg 300w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/08/16094723/Camp-Nou-600x338.jpg 600w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/08/16094723/Camp-Nou-150x84.jpg 150w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/08/16094723/Camp-Nou-768x432.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px"></figure><p id="caption-attachment-342371" class="wp-caption-text">The famous Camp Nou sat empty for over an entire season, with costly renovations on the horizon.</p></div>
<h5></h5>
<h5>3. Wages</h5>
<p>The main eye-opener in Barcelona’s $1.5 billion debt is player wages. Headlines regarding Pique, Messi and other long-standing players mention the lofty wages that must be dealt with.</p>
<p>Before his contract ended, Messi’s contract brought him over 500 million euros over a four-year span. Gerard Pique needed to take a 50 percent salary cut just to allow Barcelona’s new signings to play.</p>
<p>The salary issue reached roughly <a href="https://salarysport.com/football/la-liga/barcelona/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">280 million euros per year</a>. This was obviously unsustainable, and it brought tough decisions to the forefront of the club to offset Barcelona’s $1.5 billion debt.</p>
<h3>Steps towards recovery</h3>
<h5>Tough goodbyes</h5>
<p>Lionel Messi&nbsp;<em>is</em>, not was, an icon of the club. He wanted to stay and sign a new four-year deal at the club, taking a massive slash to his wages. He took on the saying&nbsp;<em>mes que un club</em>, as you would expect the captain to do. However, Messi’s contract and the associated plans presented by Laporta were not allowed under LaLiga attempts to tighten financial regulations.</p>
<p>With the need to shed 200 million euros to meet LaLiga’s salary cap, not even Messi’s 50 percent cut fit the designated amount. Pique’s contract was relatively small enough to squeeze into the salary cap.</p>
<p>For those wondering why Messi could not take more money off his contract, Barcelona thought of that as well. To avoid fraud, one’s contract can be no smaller than 50 percent of the previous contract. This means that even with the maximum cut, Messi’s contract was too large.</p>
<p>Here is where Joan Laporta blames the previous administration. Barcelona’s previous board, led by Josep Maria Bartomeu, signed players to such large contracts. Contracts so inflated that the debt kept piling up.</p>
<p><em><strong><a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/2021/07/17/espn-faq-for-la-liga-everything-you-need-to-know/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE:</a>&nbsp;</strong>ESPN+ FAQ for La Liga: Everything you need to know</em></p>
<p>Griezmann, Coutinho and Miralem Pjanic, all signings by the previous board, occupied the second-, third- and fourth-<a href="https://salarysport.com/football/la-liga/barcelona/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">highest salaries in 2020/21</a>. One thing these players have in common is that they underperform based on their wages, significantly. No other team wants to buy these players in a transfer to help Barcelona knowing the on-field product will not deliver. In the end, these players sit, unused, raking in lump sums of money.</p>
<p>Francisco Trincão and Junior Firpo highlight those who departed in the summer of 2021 to shed some of the salary for the upcoming season.</p>
<h5>Return to Development at La Masia</h5>
<p>The previous administration took over in 2014. The squad headlined by Messi, Iniesta, Xavi, Sergio Busquets and other La Masia products won three UEFA Champions League titles in six years. This core added a fourth in 2015. However, the direction of the club quickly changed.</p>
<p>The performances on the field lost the&nbsp;<em>tiki-taka</em> flair established by Pep Guardiola. Instead of growing talents from their academy, many players simply arrived via transfers.</p>
<p>We can see, now, how that turned out for the club. No more Champions League triumphs, a handful of domestic success, but nothing to match the standard of FC Barcelona.</p>
<p>To fix Barcelona’s $1.5 billion debt, the plan has to revert to using La Masia to create home-grown talents. Riqui Puig, Ilaix Moriba, Oscar Mingueza and other young players demonstrate the facility still has potential.</p>
<p>During his campaign for presidency, Laporta argued that the club must prioritize La Masia over outside transfers. This will be hard for many Barcelona fans used to domestic and intercontinental success, but this process will take time. However, the results, as seen in the ten-year stretch from 2006-2015, do not lie.</p>
<div id="attachment_342368" style="width: 1110px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><figure class="image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-342368" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-342368 size-full" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20210818_CMS_342353_Pep-Resize_c9ebb3d7.webp&amp;width=1100&amp;height=683" alt="" width="1100" height="683" srcset="https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/08/16094725/Pep-Resize.jpg 1100w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/08/16094725/Pep-Resize-300x186.jpg 300w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/08/16094725/Pep-Resize-600x373.jpg 600w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/08/16094725/Pep-Resize-150x93.jpg 150w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/08/16094725/Pep-Resize-768x477.jpg 768w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/08/16094725/Pep-Resize-223x137.jpg 223w" sizes="(max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px"></figure><p id="caption-attachment-342368" class="wp-caption-text">FC Barcelona players lift former manager Pep Guardiola.</p></div>
<h5></h5>
<h5>Rebuild the culture</h5>
<p>Lionel Messi is one of the last players to hold what made the Barcelona teams of years prior so special. He played with a certain style on the pitch. Also, he did not speak negatively about the club until the summer of 2020 during his quarrel with Bartomeu.</p>
<p>With Messi gone, it is hard to envision the trademark tiki-taka style at Camp Nou. With Laporta emphasizing the importance of La Masia, that style can return to its roots.</p>
<p>A younger revolution at the club means the chance to create something special. The results can be seen. Pedri, although he was purchased from Las Palmas, resembles what Iniesta and Xavi brought to the club. It is a challenging comparison to make, but Ansu Fati is on par with some of Messi’s early records. These players, along with the aforementioned La Masia graduates, can build the core of a team to legitimately compete in a few years.</p>
<p>What is even more exciting for Barcelona and its fans, is the fact that these players have the charisma and style that graced previous generations of Barcelona players. Perhaps Barcelona can rise again?</p>
<div style="font-size: 10px;color: #cccccc;overflow: hidden;font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/worldsoccertalk" title="World Soccer Talk Podcast" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc;text-decoration: none" rel="noopener">World Soccer Talk Podcast</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/worldsoccertalk/can-espn-grow-laliga-in-the-united-states" title="Can ESPN grow LaLiga in the United States?" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc;text-decoration: none" rel="noopener">Can ESPN grow LaLiga in the United States?</a></div>

The downfall of Barcelona: How debt and transfers cost Messi

FC Barcelona's $1.5 billion debt seems like an impossible number to reach. However, what seems even more insurmountable is trying to overcome it.

The downfall of Barcelona: How debt and transfers cost Messi - World Soccer Talk

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The downfall of Barcelona: How debt and transfers cost Messi