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It was known that the financial situation at Barcelona was quite bad, but nobody thought it was this bad. On Monday, president Joan Laporta held a press conference and painted a concerning picture of just where the club stands at the moment. Laporta, elected earlier in the year, said the club's debt has risen to $1.6 billion. Laporta blamed the previous administration and president Josep Bartomeu, saying the precarious situation was a result of both ridiculous financial management at the club and issues stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, 

Laporta said the club's net worth is -$532 million with the club essentially spending twice more than they brought in. 

"Our salaries represent 103 percent of the club's total income. That's 20 to 25 percent more than our competitors," Laporta said. "We have found ourselves in a difficult situation to renegotiate the players' contracts."

That issue with contracts resulted in arguably the greatest player in history, Lionel Messi, shockingly leaving the club this month after agreeing to a contract extension. Messi signed with Paris Saint-Germain.

Barca players also had to take a reduced salary just to be able to register some of their new signings. The team kicked off its La Liga season on Sunday with a 4-2 win over Real Sociedad.

Laporta said only a small part of their financial issues is as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Most of it coming from inflated contracts, absurd transfer fees and more, with the club failing to sensibly manage their finances for the last several years.

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As a result, Laporta is tasked with the club balancing the books and looking return to the top of Spanish and continental soccer. How Barca will get out of the situation remains complicated with the need to boost revenue, be it by ticket sales, selling players or more. Laporta said it will take years. Had Barca decided to sell Messi last season, when he wanted to go, they probably could have brought in around $100 million for the player, if not more. Though, be it last year or this year, without Messi one figures there to be less revenue as a result of losing the player. On the other side, PSG sold an estimated $23 million in Messi jerseys within minutes. 

You can watch the full press conference below.


Barca return to the pitch on Saturday against Athletic Club.