Revealed: The financial losses Barcelona stand to make following costly early Champions League exit
- Barca's second consecutive group stage exit
- Inter win followed by defeat to Bayern
- Club faces losses of €20m
WHAT HAPPENED? Barcelona crashed out at the group stages of the Champions League on Wednesday night without kicking a ball, as Inter's 4-0 victory over Viktoria Plzen condemned them to an early exit. Bayern rubbed salt into the wounds with a damning 3-0 win at Camp Nou, as Barca dropped down to the Europa League for the second season running.
The finances involved with playing in Europe's elite competition means that Barca's early exit will have severe ramifications for the club. President Joan Laporta reportedly budgeted their season assuming that they would go on to reach the quarter-finals of the competition. Now eliminated from the group stage with a game to spare, the numbers don't make for attractive reading.
WHAT ARE THE NUMBERS? Reaching the last 16 of the Champions League earns clubs around €9.6 million (£8.3m), while qualification for the quarter-finals is rewarded with another €10.6 million (£9.2m). That amounts to a budget of around €20.2 million (£17.5m) that Barcelona now don't have access to, which is a damning revelation given the club's big and risky spending in the summer.
STORY IN THREE PHOTOS
THE REACTION:
Reminder Barcelona requested to UEFA to advance several years of CL TV money as security for bank loan - only to be reminded no guarantee Barca would qualify…now their fans sing “UEFA is a Mafia” after team flop out of group phase…
— Adam Crafton (@AdamCrafton_) October 26, 2022
Background; https://t.co/JpK1PtVSkN https://t.co/6aGLNRfZJZ
Barcelona president Laporta: “We’ve to look forward. We knew that in this process of rebuilding the team there would be ups and downs”. 🔵🔴 #FCB
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 26, 2022
“The message to the fans is let's look forward. Xavi also made youngsters play so that they can grow”. pic.twitter.com/NPO99Q9W1z