Barcelona, a club in tremendous financial instability, have finally received some good news on their finances. The club reported that they had amassed a debt of 1.2 billion euros including a short-term debt of 750 million euros. This happened due to the lack of management from the previous board, which was being headed by Josep Maria Bartomeu. The former president resigned last season, and Joan Laporta replaced him. Although Laporta has a lot of experience in taking teams out of financial crises, this will be a big task for him. The new report from the credit rating agency, Fitch, will be a boost for the club however, they must maintain their budget if they want to come out of this financial nightmare.
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Barcelona receive some positive news with their finances
Credit rating agency, Fitch, announced recently that after careful evaluation of the club’s situation, they have approved their rating of BBB- which is a fair grade for the club at the current moment. The ratings goes from AAA+ to C- and thus Barcelona received a decent rating which is great news for them according to financial analyst Marc Ciria. Cira said,
"“It is a very good piece of news, very positive, we could have expected a worse rating. Generally, it is a rating which will impart trust in the financial markets.”Source Goal"
So what does this rating mean for Barcelona? Well, basically in layman’s terms Barca are still not in the situation of bankruptcy, and they can continue taking annual debt of three percent or lower. However, although this is good news for the club in the short term, and it gives them more time to negotiate their ongoing payments, it won’t be a merry picture if they do not actively find more investments and funds. Cira added later on that although the rating was good, if they continued on the same path, the rating might drop to a CCC+, which is a bad rating.
For football fans, these things do not matter much, and they won’t be receiving any good news anytime soon. The four new signings are yet to be registered, and Lionel Messi is yet to sign a new contract with the club. None of that can be achieved due to the major salary cap placed upon the club by La Liga, and the club desperately needs to let go of some of their players. Until they can make space in their squad, and lower the squad wages, they cannot go ahead with their new transfers or Messi.
Will Barca manage to recover from their financial troubles?