Barcelona won the LaLiga title on Sunday, but financial issues and a refereeing scandal that could last years have overshadowed their stellar domestic performance.
In March, Spanish authorities accused Barcelona of paying 7.3 million euros ($8 million) to firms owned by former officiating official Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira from 2001 to 2018. Barcelona will hear the case.
In March, UEFA, European soccer’s regulatory body, launched its own formal investigation into the club’s payments.
The club claims it paid a consultant for “technical reports related to professional refereeing,” as many clubs do.
From 1993 to 2018, Enriquez Negreira was the vice-president of the Spanish Football Association’s officiating committee, one of the country’s highest-ranking officials.
The club’s reputation has taken a major hit, and the legal process and UEFA’s investigation may continue to do so.
Money troubles
Barcelona’s enormous salary bill, COVID-19 outbreak, and 1.6 billion-euro rebuilding project are already causing accounting issues.
Barca couldn’t re-sign Lionel Messi, who left as a free agent for Paris Saint-Germain in 2021, due to LaLiga’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.
LaLiga reports that Barca are still 200 million euros over the cap and cannot register new contracts inked months ago with defender Ronald Araujo and midfielder Gavi, vital players whose futures are in danger until the club can fit them into its budget.
The club’s finances are so unstable that the board has sold shares in its TV rights and media businesses to balance the books after crashing out of European play early this season.
As it begins its costly makeover, the club will depart its historic but aging Camp Nou stadium for a few seasons.
Barcelona’s board expected in this season’s budget that the squad would reach the Champions League quarterfinals and earn lots of money.
Instead, they were eliminated from Europe’s top club competition in the group stage and the Europa League by Manchester United.
As Barca’s last chance to minimise the harm to their 2022-23 income, coach Xavi Hernández had to win the title.
Barcelona’s high-ranking officials are still concerned despite the club’s four-game LaLiga title win.
