Barcelona president insists club isn’t facing bankruptcy

July 7, 2010

The new president of Spanish La Liga champions, Sandro Rosell, has denied the club could be facing bankruptcy despite negotiating a US$188 million bank loan to pay players’ wages.

Rosell, who replaced outgoing president Juan Laporta last week, said the club was in talks with several banks, and that the loan should be secured in the next couple of days. The club has reportedly missed a deadline to pay a number of players and coaches.

However, he dismissed claims the club could go bankrupt, saying: “Our members can be rest assured. The club is not bankrupt. This week we will have everything in place to impose a policy of austerity so we are able to make savings in certain areas and meet very important commitments such as paying the wages of our players, coaches and employees.”

Only last week Barcelona announced a revenue increase of 16 per cent, making it the richest club in the world. However, bonuses paid out to players and coaches also went up by US$50 million.

As well as this, there are concerns over the fact the club’s lucrative television deal with Mediapro is not secured by a bank guarantee. While it has received assurances from the agency, which filed for bankruptcy protection last month, payment issues are a concern.

Rosell also admitted that the sale of defender Dmytro Chygrynskiy had been motivated by financial factors.