UPDATE: There is now a conflicting report that indicates this deal is back on. The fun of following Barcelona.
With the departure of Ousmane Dembele, fans were looking forward to seeing some new signings come into the club, but that may now be delayed after the German fund who were set to inject €65 million into the club, backed out at the 11th hour.
According to a report in SPORT, the €65 million was included in a ‘Feasibility Plan’ that Bara presented to register new signings.
It’s unknown why the German fund decided to back out of the deal, which would have seen them take control of 16% of Barca Studios, but this now leaves President Joan Laporta scrambling for alternative revenue streams.
The re-sale of Barca Studios was hailed as a financial lever, enabling the club to register their new signings and contract renewals. Now that Barca is going to be without that €65 million, it remains to be seen if the club will be able to get everyone registered in time for the La Liga kickoff against Getafe.
It’s another financial hit to the club after Barca lost important game revenue when they were unable to partake in the first game of their pre-season tour of the USA against Juventus.
It also now seems as though Barca and Dembele are in disagreement over his departure. Although we thought his release clause was re-set to €100 million after PSG failed to pay his €50 million buyout before the end of July, it now seems as though there was a separate clause in his contract, that allowed that €50 million buyout to stick, as long as he formally requested his move before the end of July, which he did.
It’s probably one of the most confusing and ridiculous contracts I’ve ever heard of.
What this all means is that as things stand, Dembele and his agent will pocket €25 million and Barcelona will pocket the other €25 million, which created just €12.5 million in financial fair play space.
This does have the potential to become very ugly, with Barcelona trying to prove that Dembele doesn’t deserve the €25 million, but hopefully, both sides are motivated to part on good terms.