Barcelona ‘owe more than €200m’ in transfer fees to the likes of Man City and Leeds as debts ‘leaked’

Barcelona still owe €200 million to other clubs in transfer fees, with Manchester City and Leeds among them, according to a new report.

Les Cules have struggled with financial difficulties in recent seasons, which was the principal reason behind Lionel Messi’s departure from the club after they failed to renew his contract.

Several players have agreed to wage cuts, and the club has used ‘financial levers’, including selling off some of its TV rights, in order to recoup some cash.

The latter method has, in part, allowed them to continue spending in the transfer market, although not to the levels that may be expected of an elite European side.

In the recent summer transfer window, Barca’s business was restricted to free transfers and loans, except for the reported €8 million deal to sign La Masia graduate Oriol Romeu from Girona.

But Xavi’s side used the loan market well to bring in Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix, while they snapped up Champions League-winning midfielder Ilkay Gundogan when his Manchester City contract expired.

As per ARA, that lack of activity may have been as a result of their issues in the transfer market.

It is claimed, via a ‘leaked’ document, that Barca owe other clubs around €90 million in transfer fees over the next 12 months, with an extra sum of almost €118 million owed over the longer-term.

The ‘leaked’ document also shows that most of the debt involves deals completed under Joan Laporta’s presidency, although Barca still owe money for the 2019 signing of Frenkie de Jong. They reportedly owe around €16 million to Ajax.

Meanwhile, it is claimed that they owe smaller amounts for Neto, Emerson Royal, Miralem Pjanic and others. Those named players, as with De Jong, were signed under Josep Maria Bartomeu’s presidency.

And the document also states that the Spanish giants owe €38 million to Leeds in the short-term over the purchase of winger Raphinha, as well as a long-term fee of €24 million to Sevilla for Jules Kounde.

They also owe a total of €26 million to Manchester City over the signing of Ferran Torres, and fees totalling around €500,000 to seven different clubs – primarily training compensations – for Robert Lewandowski.

According to Spanish outlet SPORT, the club will acknowledge these debts at their next general assembly – and it is claimed that the club could receive a transfer ban if the payments are not made.

However, it isn’t all bad news for Barca, with a separate ‘leaked’ document showing they are owed short-term fees of €41 million – plus long-term fees of €40 million – from other clubs and organisations for outgoing transfers.

Barca are currently in third place in La Liga, having picked up 21 points from their nine games thus far this season. Xavi’s side have also won both of their Champions League group stage matches.