Barcelona president Joan Laporta has praised the club’s board of directors for saving the Spanish giants from their “ultimate” financial position.
Laporta, who returned as Barcelona president in March 2021, said they were “still working” to reduce the club’s debt and balance their books, but added that the club was in a much better position compared to arriving.
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“When we arrived over a year ago, the club was in a lounge [financial] Situation,” Laporta for journalists. “We have restructured our debts, saved money, controlled our expenditures and increased our revenues.”
Laporta said in August that his board of directors inherited a debt of 1.35 billion euros, meaning Barcelona were unable to sign a new contract for legend Lionel Messi, who joined Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent last summer.
Barcelona’s financial vice president, Eduard Romeo, said the wage bill was 560 million euros, nearly double that of Bayern Munich and 160 million euros more than La Liga rival Real Madrid.
The Catalan club will hold a meeting on June 16 looking to seek permission on several financial moves to boost Barcelona’s economy.
“If our members approve of these financial operations, that would be good news for us,” Laporta said. “We will balance our books sooner than we expected.”
Laporta said he hoped to extend the contract of young midfielder Jaffe, whose contract expires next summer.
“We are optimistic,” Laporta said. “Obviously we want Gavi to continue at Barcelona.”
The 17-year-old made 34 league appearances for Barcelona last season and became Spain’s youngest goalscorer after scoring against the Czech Republic in a 2-2 draw in the Nations League last weekend.
“We are on the verge of reaching an agreement,” Laporta said. “It’s more special for us because [Gavi] It comes from the ranks of our youth. We want Gavi to stay. The player and his agent want that too.”
Meanwhile, winger Ousmane Dembele, who is targeting PSG and Chelsea, has yet to respond to a contract offer from Barcelona as his contract expires this month.
“Othmane received a renewal offer from us and we have no news that he accepted it,” Laporta said.
