The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

The unknown of Barça

2020-10-29T23:38:59.998Z


The club's management committee has the negotiating table ahead with the employees for the reduction of salaries, but the opposition believes that this task does not correspond to them


The FC Barcelona accounts are in the UCI.

And Carles Tusquets (Barcelona, ​​1951), president of the management commission, the body that will govern the Barça club until there are elections, knows it.

"The economic situation is not comfortable and we hope that as long as we are we can redirect everything we can," said Tusquets, from the outset, in his first appearance after the resignation of the board of directors of Josep Maria Bartomeu.

In fact, Tusquets, who has chaired the economic commission (supervisory body) since 2015, knew this for a long time, long before the pandemic exacerbated the club's delicate finances.

A little more than three years ago, in the assembly of Barcelona compromisers members in 2017, Tusquets warned: “The spending on player renewals is highly significant.

This places the wage bill above the maximum security indicator and we hope it will be redirected.

I recommend that more home players be included in the first team squad ”.

And today, as president of the management committee, one of his main objectives will be to agree with the players on the salary reduction.

The one that was already out of control three seasons ago.

That Tusquets speech took place a few months after Neymar's departure, which marked a turning point in the political and economic context of Bartomeu's administration.

The Brazilian left 222 million that nobody expected but, in exchange, the club modified its income strategy.

A year later, also in the assembly of compromisarios members, in a less combative parliament, Tusquets predicted: "It has to be internalized that Barça must also be a selling club."

Barça transferred for 134 million in 2018-2019 and for 158.9 in 2019-2020.

In the three years prior to the thunderous sale of Neymar, the average exits from Bartomeu's board had been 50 million.

Bartomeu, meanwhile, boasted of income.

"Barça is the first sports brand in the world," said the then president.

Bartomeu was right.

The problem was that in order to generate that level of income, Barça had fattened expenses like no other club in Europe, essentially in the salary mass of the first team.

It was precisely the summer of Neymar's departure when Messi agreed to his last renewal for about 100 million per year.

To the new contract of 10 those of Piqué, Busquets and Jordi Alba were added.

Before, Luis Suárez had already passed through Bartomeu's office.

In 2019, Griezmann's payroll was added to the Barça treasury.

The salaries of these six players represented approximately 60% of the total of the first team.

"It was a very difficult situation to sustain over time," explained an employee.

Barcelona closed the 2019-2020 campaign with expenses on sports salaries of 636 million (including amortizations).

In 2016-2017, Neymar's last at the club, had been 432.

An increase of 47%

A 47% increase in the wage bill.

Precisely what Tusquets had marked in red in the assembly of compromisarios partners after the departure of the Brazilian forward to PSG.

Bartomeu left the club in the middle of a negotiation table with employees and first team players in which he sought to agree to a salary reduction.

Lenglet, De Jong and Ter Stegen renewed their contracts with a temporary pay cut this season that will be rewarded in the following.

Piqué agreed to reduce his salary in exchange for two more years of contract.

"I think we are helping the club," analyzed the Catalan central in an interview in

La Vanguardia

.

However, he warned that the financial maneuver could be a boomerang in the Barça economy: "The backpack may be bigger in the future, but for there to be a future we must act like this."

The signings Dest and Pjanic have already agreed their salaries with the special reduction for the 2020-2021 campaign.

But the cases of Griezmann, Busquets, Sergi Roberto, Coutinho and Alba, some of the players with the most significant salaries, are still pending.

Messi's case is special.

The contract of 10 ends at the end of the season, so in the case of agreeing on a salary reduction for this season, the balance must be collected when he is no longer in the club if he decides not to renew.

"Without Bartomeu everything can be decompressed", they argue from the environment of one of the players.

According to the statutes, the management committee must limit itself to carrying out "the necessary and essential acts for the maintenance of the club's attitudes and the maintenance of its interests."

This Thursday Tusquets did not give too many details about his idea at the head of the club.

In any case, from the Barcelona offices they warn: "Finishing the negotiating table is essential".

A statement that some candidates for the presidency of Barça disagree with.

“If we go to the theoretical framework, the Manager does not have to negotiate anything with the players.

They have to pay for electricity, water and gas, and that the grass is cut.

That they limit themselves to doing what is essential and with maximum transparency ”, clarifies one of the candidates.

The Management Commission, through pandemic, has a maximum of 90 days to call elections.

The president-elect may take over the club the day after winning the elections.

The Bartomeu Board budgeted 828 million revenue for 2020-2021.

An optimistic balance considering that they believe that the public will partially return in February.

The expenses were planned at 796 million, so that after taxes and financial expenses the net result is one million.

All numbers that are in the air because they have yet to look to cut 190 million, mainly from player salaries.

The question is whether the task corresponds to the management committee or the next president.

"Elections as soon as possible"

"We want to call the elections as soon as possible, and I underline the possible word," said Tusquets.

“What we will not do is accept pressure to be at the wrong time.

None of us who are part of the management company - there is no former director - have aspirations to join a board.

And we want the next directive to have the maximum possible support and that goes through maximum participation ”, he added.

The name of Tusquets is not new in Barcelona, ​​much less in Catalan civil society.

He aspired to the presidency of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce in 2019 and was president of the Círculo de Economía between 1989 and 1992, in preparation for the 1992 Games. He arrived at Barça very early, at the age of 27 he was treasurer of the Josep Board Lluís Núñez.

In 2010 he returned to the club under the leadership of President Sandro Rosell to form part of the economic commission.

In addition, in 2015 he was vice president of the management committee chaired by Ramon Adell, which closed the signing of Arda Turan for 34 million euros plus seven in variables.

“Barça is the club in Europe or one of the clubs in Europe that depends the most on tourism.

The museum, the stadium, the VIP areas, the shops ... Tourism is stopped right now and that affects us the same or worse than the hotel industry ”, reflected Tusquets, doctor cum laude in Economics and Business from the University of Barcelona.

Currently president of Banco Mediolanum in Spain, Tusquets was one of the members of Lluís Bassat's candidacy, which fell to Joan Laporta in the 2003 presidential elections. “Next week we will hold a press conference in which we will explain what we have found and what we want to do so that Barça continues to be what it has always been: the best club in the world ”, he concluded.

Source: elparis

All sports articles on 2020-10-29

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.