It looks like FC Barcelona are having some money worries. Swiss Ramble wrote a Twitter thread on the club’s financial issues and the reason behind them, including potential complications with Lionel Messi’s proposed contract:
#FCBarcelona are facing a financial crisis, due to a combination of mismanagement and the COVID-19 pandemic, which means that they need to make significant savings to meet La Liga’s regulations.
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#FCBarcelona’s financial issues even endanger Lionel Messi’s proposed new 5-year contract, though the club is looking to get creative here, e.g. huge pay cut (reportedly 50%) in the first year, compensated by a longer agreement and potential “ambassadorial work” in the future.
I mean, seeing as Messi wasn’t paying his taxes, may some of that pay cut could go towards the bill anyway. While I believe the pandemic has affected many clubs and brought some to the brink of extinction, Barça have never been a frugal club and this is the tip of the iceberg for soccer’s lavish and devil-may-care attitude to financial stability. The reason clubs like Barcelona, Real Madrid, PSG, Chelsea, and Manchester City have carried on this way is because UEFA’s limp FFP regulations and the clubs’ respective leagues have allowed them to. I can only imagine the exceptions for this case.