Barcelona set to be fined €15.7m for payments made to players’ agents

Barcelona have been hit with a hefty €15.7m fine from the Spanish tax authorities due to “irregularities” in their payments to players. The Blaugrana failed to properly declare several expenses to the tax authorities, including the cost of chartered flights to players and the cost of loaning Audi cars to the squad, among other issues.

In addition, the club accounted for the redundancy packages of former players Arda Turan and Alexander Song when they left the club, but failed to correctly declare the cost of terminating their deals. The cost of Turan’s deal amounted to €1.312m, while Song’s deal was worth €3.5m.

This latest financial blow comes as Barcelona attempts to raise €200m this summer to avoid falling foul of their salary limit. The club is currently in a precarious financial position and this hefty fine will only add to their woes. Furthermore, the fine will harm the club’s reputation, particularly in the wake of the ongoing Negreira Case, where Barcelona are being investigated for payments made to the former Vice-President of the Referees Committee, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira.

While current President Joan Laporta is likely to point out that these events occurred under his predecessor, Josep Maria Bartomeu, it is clear that Barcelona must work to ensure proper financial management in the future.