Inside Barcelona's Massive Debt as President Joan Laporta Names Who Is to Blame for Saga

• Joan Laporta slammed the previous regime as he openly broke down Barcelona’s current problems
• The current president of FC Barcelona admitted the club was in massive debt, amounting to about €1.35billion
• He spoke in a two-hour presser that he inherited a “terrible mess” from his predecessor Josep Bartomeu

Barcelona President Joan Laporta recently disclosed the club has a mind-boggling debt of €1.35billion.

In a two-hour press conference, Laporta brutally broke down the club’s problems as he slammed his predecessor Josep Maria Bartomeu for the current mess.

According to Laporta, he was given a “terrible inheritance” from Bartomeu’s regime as the Catalan giants resorted to senior players to take wage cuts to help with the salary cap.

Currently, the club’s wage bill accounts for 103% of Barcelona’s total income.

If the club had pushed to resign Lionel Messi, it would have seen the wage bill soar up to 110% of the club’s revenue, something La Liga refused to accept. He said via Sky Sports:

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"The first thing we had to do when we arrived was to ask for a loan of €80m because otherwise, we could not pay the salaries. The previous regime was full of lies.”

"We also found that we had to do some urgent repairs to the Camp Nou because otherwise, it posed a risk to the attending fans. We also found out that the club had already received 50 per cent of the TV rights fees in advance.

"Barcelona has a negative net worth of 451m euros - it is a terrible inheritance. What has been happening is very worrying."

Bartomeu’s defence

Former Barca President Bartomeu on Saturday, August 14 defended his regime in an open letter, saying he would have placed some strong financial measures in place had he not been forced to resign in October 2020.

"As is known, our board of directors planned to call elections on 21 March, within the statutory period at the end of our mandate, which would have allowed us to take on and carry out the settlement of the 2020-21 season accounts.

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"We would then have taken the decisions necessary to avoid arriving at the current financial situation.

Pique ‘playing almost for free’ after taking pay cut

Having signed Eric Garcia and Memphis Depay for free in the summer, Barcelona struggled to register the two players because of the salary cap.

However, club captain Gerard Pique took a hefty pay cut just before the La Liga opener against Real Sociedad on Sunday, August 15 to ensure a late registration for the two signings.

Laporta thanked Pique for his move, as he expressed hope that other senior players would follow suit for the sake of the club.

"I thank Pique for his willingness to help the club. His reduction has helped us to register players. We can register Kun (Sergio Aguero) with the agreement we plan to have with the other players. I hope the other captains act like Pique."

Messi looks settled in Paris

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Lionel Messi seems to be settling in well and fast at Paris Saint-Germain after the Argentine showed his new teammates what he will bring to the table.

The 34-year-old completed a two-year deal with the French League club this month and during his first few training sessions, he is already driving them crazy.

Though the six-time Ballon d'Or winner is not expected to make his debut until a few days from now, he is already showing his unstoppable skills in training.