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| Philippe Coutinho of Aston Villa acknowledges the fans following the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Manchester United at Villa Park on January 15, 2022 in Birmingham, England. |
Barcelona are thought to still owe as much as €144m
on various incoming transfers from years – including €50m on Miralem Pjanic and
Philippe Coutinho alone, both of whom have actually left Camp Nou in permanent
deals. Barça made Coutinho one of the most expensive players of all time when
they agreed a deal with Liverpool in 2018 worth up to €160m.
But things quickly
soured for the Brazilian and he spent time on loan at Bayern Munich and Aston
Villa, before joining the latter for a minimal fee this year. Pjanic,
meanwhile, was part of a slightly bizarre double deal in the summer of 2020
that saw the Catalans also send Arthur Melo to Juventus. AS has reported that
Barça’s latest economic report, which is to be presented to members next
months, will explain that the club has outstanding transfer fees to be paid
totalling €144m.
However, they are also owed just under €130m themselves, with
plenty of modern deals arranged with staggered payment structures. Aside from
money still owed for Pjanic (€36m) and Coutinho (€14m), Barca have €46m to pay
Ajax for Frenkie de Jong and Sergino Dest. There is another €52m that has to go
to Manchester City for Ferran Torres.
Yet Barca are yet to be paid €10m for
Coutinho by Aston Villa and will also receive €6m for Trincao from Wolves in
due course. Barça’s finances are in much better shape than they were at the
peak of the club’s money trouble, but Camp Nou vice president of economics
Eduard Romeu confirmed earlier this week that this chapter is still not over
and more has to be done.
“We have saved Barça, but we still haven’t
resolved it,” Romeu explained. “We don’t have it healthy; it involves
a lot of austerity, a lot of rigour and there is a lot of work to do. In the
2024/25 season we will be at the level that corresponds to us.”
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