BARCELONA - In Barcelona's latest balance sheet report, president Joan Laporta said the Catalan club was in debt up to 1.35 billion euros.

Not only that, the total loss suffered by Barcelona reached 481 million euros with a net worth of around 451 million euros. As a result, Barcelona failed to tie Lionel Messi to a new contract.

Likewise with the decision to release players, especially those with high salaries, in order to ease the club's financial burden.

A number of parties, including Laporta, assessed that Barcelona's financial condition was inseparable from the mismanagement carried out by the Bara management under the leadership of Joseph Maria Bartemou.

The reckless recruitment of players, coupled with providing high salaries, without being accompanied by maximum contributions on the field is one of the blunders made by Barcelona under Bartemou's leadership regime.

In the end, Barcelona's biggest debt lies in the player's salary post. Bartemou, who served as President of Barcelona from 2014 to 2020, has finally spoken about the reasons for the deteriorating financial condition of the club, especially in the 2020/2021 fiscal year.

The Covid-19 pandemic, said Bartemou, hit the Blaugrana's balance sheet. In particular, Bartemou said, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Barcelona lost revenue of 225 million euros.

“We want to emphasize the impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on club finances. Not just this season. It all started in March 2020. All of a sudden, the club's income dropped drastically."

"Clubs can't get enough money to pay players' salaries, even to pay for operational needs," Bartemou said in an interview with Sport, Friday (15/10).

Even so, the Spanish businessman, who finally resigned as Barcelona president in October 2020, emphasized that Barcelona's financial condition was not as serious as Laporta said.

"What we want to emphasize is that his condition is not as serious as the current club management suggests. However, this situation is caused by the Covid-19 pandemic,'' said the figure who replaced Sandro Rosell in 2004.