Haaland to Barcelona? Cash-strapped Catalans risk selling their souls to pay superstar striker

“Erling Haaland’s agent has arrived in Barcelona to negotiate the transfer with Joan Laporta”. It seemed like an April Fools joke, and silly, given it was so incredible.

How the hell could Barcelona afford to sign the most sought-after forward in world football, when they couldn’t even put up 3 million euros (2.7 million pounds / 3.6 million dollars) for Manchester City reserve Eric García? in january?

Has no sense. However, on Thursday, images quickly emerged of Mino Raiola and Haaland’s father, Alf-Inge, being picked up at Barcelona airport before a meeting with Laporta and his emissaries.

For the Blaugrana fans devastated by the terrible financial situation of their club, this was a manna from heaven. The rumors were true! Barça could sign Haaland!

In theory, they could, but at what cost?

As things stand, Barça is simply not in a position to make this agreement a reality. The Blaugrana have a debt of almost 1,200 million euros (1,100 million pounds sterling / 1,500 million dollars). Even more concerning, however, is the fact that its short-term debt is approximately € 500 million (£ 425 million / $ 590 million) and is due by June 30.

Even taking into account additional pay cuts, loan repayment deferrals to existing creditors, and the potential sale of unwanted players with massive salaries, Barca clearly need financial help just to balance the books, let alone finance a expensive signing like Haaland.

However, Goldman Sachs may be of assistance. The American multinational investment bank has already offered the Blaugrana a 30-year loan of 800 million euros for the Espai Barca project, which includes the remodeling of the club’s training facilities, the Camp Nou and its surroundings, offices and stadiums. .

However, that proposed agreement, one of Josep Maria Bartomeu’s final acts as president, has yet to be approved by both his successor, Laporta, and the club’s Assembly. There is no guarantee that you will be given the green light.

The original cost of the Espai Barca project was intended to be 600 million euros (530 million pounds sterling / 730 million dollars) and Bartomeu intended to divide it equally between the club’s treasury, outside investors and the sale. of the stadium name to a business partner.

However, there is now widespread concern among club members about what it would mean for Barça’s status as a registered association if one company paid for the entire project, which has now skyrocketed to around 815 million euros (£ 722 million). / 988 million dollars).

As it is, it is forbidden for anyone or anyone to own shares in FC Barcelona, ​​and the Blaugrana have insisted that Goldman Sachs would not get anything close to a stake in the club.

However, last October, Marc Ciria, a prominent economist and confidant of Laporta, stated in an interview with EFE that Barça had the intention of using the loan from Goldman Sachs to pay the salaries of the players.

“Goldman Sachs agrees with that because it is charging 3-4 percent interest,” Ciria said. “If Barcelona don’t pay for it, Goldman will knock on the door.

“The question is how the default on the debt will be executed. With the club’s assets? With the stadium? Because when there is a loan from an investment bank, the clauses are much firmer than those of a traditional bank ”.

Ciria added that the conclusion of an agreement of this type had two possible results: “the conversion of the club into a sports limited company”, or an investment group such as Goldman Sachs that owns up to 70% of Barça.

This statement prompted immediate comparisons with the recent change of ownership at AC Milan.

The Italian club’s previous Chinese owners, led by Li Younghong, borrowed money from Elliott Management Corporation to finance an acquisition, but when they defaulted on that loan, the American hedge fund took control of San Siro.

Since then, Elliott has run the club with cunning and intelligence, putting Milan in an excellent position to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 2014. However, the issue of ownership is much more controversial and contentious at the Camp. Nou, where it is wrapped. in the Catalan cause.

Barça, in theory, is meant to be managed and owned by partners, not companies, and the club’s former financial vice president, Jordi Moix, was quick to deny that Goldman’s loan would be used for anything other than the remodeling plan.

There is now widespread skepticism about a potential deal that could have their soul sold for short-term relief, which could create long-term problems.

For example, when disgraced former president Bartomeu first announced that Goldman Sachs would help finance the Espai Barca project, he insisted that there would be no financial interests or guarantees involved in the deal.

However, Moix later admitted in January that there would be “some guarantees included” and insisted that “the structure of the club is not at risk.”

No one, then, is quite sure what to believe at the moment, which explains why Raiola’s appearance in Barcelona was received with such disbelief.

Given Barca’s financial situation and Haaland’s likely transfer fee, something is off here.

Unless the club is willing to secure a colossal amount of investment to pay off its debts and invest in the team, there is no way Barça will be in a position to even consider signing the Borussia Dortmund forward.

While it is clear that Barca will need money from somewhere by June 30, which means that an investment deal could be made with a group like Goldman Sachs, it seems much more likely that the Raiola-Laporta talks were simply a gimmick. advertising.

The couple have an excellent relationship, dating back to the transfers of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Maxwell to the Camp Nou in 2009, and the news of their meeting in Barcelona will have benefited both of them.

Certainly, the first leg of Raiola’s tour of Europe’s elite clubs could not have been better for the ‘superagent’ – it generated a great deal of media interest that could well set off a lucrative bidding war for his client.

Meanwhile, the mere fact that Haaland’s father came to Catalonia already made people connected to Barcelona acclaim ‘the Laporta effect’.

Club members were enthusiastic about his promise to make La Masia the basis of his new project, but the fact that he is seen to be discussing deals with one of the main players in the transfer market will only have increased the popularity of the new president.

So while Laporta’s talks with Raiola about a possible transfer from Haaland to Barcelona were obviously not an April Fool’s Day joke, stunned fans need to be careful what they wish for. If something feels too good to be true, it usually is.