Barcelona Still Owes Over €100M In Transfers

Barcelona still owe more than €100m in transfer fees ahead of any potential new signing this summer, amid links to Liverpool forward Luis Diaz.

The Spanish giants, who recently completed a domestic treble, are aiming to strengthen their squad under Hansi Flick, after falling short in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, where they lost 7-6 on aggregate to Inter Milan in an all-time classic footballing affair.

One high-profile name linked with Hansi Flick’s side is Colombian winger, Diaz. But according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Liverpool have made it clear that the 28-year-old is not for sale.

Even if a move for Diaz fails to materialise, Barcelona’s current financial situation remains a concern. That’s because they still owe more than €102.6m (£86.6m) in unpaid transfer instalments.

Barcelona’s perilous financial situation is a consequence of several years of mismanagement, including a spiralling wage bill and several disastrous marquee signings, notably Philippe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann.

In order to prevent the club from potential bankruptcy in 2022, club president Joan Laporta activated a series of ‘financial levers’, which included the immediate sale of future TV rights to instantly raise money.

What players do Barcelona owe money for?
Barcelona’s largest outstanding payment is to English side Leeds United, who are due €42m (£35.5m) for Brazilian winger Raphinha.

He joined Barcelona for an initial fee of £49m in 2022, with the deal rising to £55m with add-ons. Three of Raphinha’s former clubs are also owed smaller sums.

Sevilla are due €24.5m (£20.7m) for French defender Jules Kounde, while Manchester City are still owed €13.2m (£11.4m) for Spanish forward Ferran Torres.

Robert Lewandowski’s transfer from Bayern Munich also remains partially unpaid. The German giants are owed €10.6m, with six other clubs also due payments.

They are MKS Warsaw Lech Poznan, Znicz, Borussia Dortmund, Legia Warsaw and Delta Warsaw.

Athletico Paranaense are in line to receive €7m for Vitor Roque, who moved to Brazilian side Palmeiras for an initial fee of €25.5 million in January.

Barcelona also have smaller fees to pay for several of their less high-profile signings.

They include Gerard Martin, Unai Hernández, Ramón Rodríguez, Ibrahim Diarra, Emersen Royal, Junior Firpo and Ez Abde.

Barcelona’s financial situation has improved in recent months, thanks to the sale of 475 VIP seats at Spotify Camp Nou and La Liga confirming their annual spending cap is now more than €463 million ($483.7m) – an increase of nearly €40m from the beginning of the season.

It means they should avoid a situation similar to that which engulfed the Dani Olmo signing last season where La Liga blocked his registration as a squad player due to it exceeding the salary cap on the club.

Despite these improvements, given Barcelona’s outstanding transfer debts, they still need to exercise caution in the transfer market.

Sportbible.com