English cash is a threat to Barca reign
BARCELONA are being pushed to the absolute limit of their finances as they fight to keep Lionel Messi and Neymar from the clutches of the Barclays Premier League.
The club are determined to hold on to their biggest assets despite interest from Manchester City and United, but they will have to speed through the sale of naming rights for the Nou Camp and drastically reduce their transfer budget to do so.
These are good times for the Catalan club on the pitch after winning the Champions League three times in the last seven seasons and they can hardly be called hard times off it, with the club posting revenues of £447million for last season.
But a series of financial headaches have still left the board fearing they may not be able to hold on to their two most important players.
The club’s wage bill stands at an unsustainable 73 per cent of revenue. That breaks the club’s own self-imposed financial regulations and the board will have to quit in two years if the ratio is not reduced.
There is still no shirt sponsor agreed for next season. Negotiations with Qatar Airways have stalled after Barcelona pushed for an increase on the £40m-a-season deal that was signed in 2013 and runs out next year.
Success has proven costly in recent seasons too, with every Champions League win meaning a huge bonus pay-out to staff. Messi, for example, earns £15m a year after tax but his bonuses for winning the treble add on another £2.8m. Barca lost money from their participation in last season’s tournament despite winning it.
The club have a £425m stadium renovation to pay for, with work set to begin in two years. As they look to finance that project their domestic TV deal remains a long way short of the Premier League package.
Neither Messi (below) nor Neymar wants to leave Barcelona, but their representatives know that other clubs have the means and the desire to make a move.
Neymar is halfway through the fiveyear deal he signed in 2013 and the club want to renew his contract now. He earns an estimated £10m net. To ward off predators that figure will need to be taken much closer to topearner Messi. Neymar’s buy- out clause will also be upped to £176m to guard against a bid from Real Madrid. Messi’s contract also runs out in 2018 and the club plan to offer him a renewal until 2020 within the next three months. His basic salary will not change but bonuses and image rights will be improved. President Josep Maria Bartomeu needs to find new revenue streams and make cuts elsewhere. The member- owned club cannot rely on direct foreign investment to swell the coffers.
The club are keen to renegotiate the deal with Nike which earns them between £21m-£25m a year. But it is not up for renewal until June 2018.
An estimated £14m a year can be made by giving the Nou Camp a commercial ‘surname’ and the US sports revenue strategists Van Wagner have been hired to find the right partner before October next year.
All this puts huge pressure on the club in the transfer market. In January head coach Luis Enrique wants to sign Celta Vigo forward Nolito. Arsenal are also keen on the 29-yearold — who has scored eight goals in 13 games this season — and if it comes to a straight fight the Gunners will win because Barca can get nowhere near the £12m valuation.