Barcelona owe a total of €144 million to four clubs for five different players that they have signed over the years, including Frenkie de Jong and Philippe Coutinho, as per Laia Tudel (h/t SportBible).
Barca bought Coutinho from Liverpool in January 2018 and are yet to pay the Reds €14 million from that deal. The Brazil international never got going at Barcelona and after registering 25 goals and 14 assists in 106 games across all competitions for the Spanish club, joined Aston Villa permanently this summer.
De Jong's much-hyped arrival from Ajax after the end of the 2018-19 season was perhaps the only transfer on this list that lived up to its billing. Barca returned for seconds next summer and brought in right-back Sergino Dest from De Godenzonen.
They still owe the Dutch giants €32 million for the midfielder and €10 million for the American right-back. The latter joined AC Milan on a season-long loan this summer after not playing a single minute under manager Xavi Hernandez in August and September.
In a move that caught many by surprise at the time, the Blaugranas signed Miralem Pjanic from Juventus two years ago in exchange for Arthur Melo, plus cash. The Bosnia and Herzegovina international left Camp Nou as a free agent this summer to join Sharjah FC after spending the last campaign on loan at Besiktas.
The Catalan club still owes the Old Lady €36 million for the transfer. The most recent of the five arrivals was that of Ferran Torres, who left Manchester CIty for Barcelona in January.
The Cityzens are yet to receive €52 million in transfer fees for the Spain international. However, Barca do have some respite in the form of €10 million that Aston Villa are yet to pay in loan fees for Coutinho.
Barcelona had a busy summer transfer window under manager Xavi Hernandez
Despite owing a ton of money to the four aforementioned clubs, Barcelona went on to splash the cash this summer and sign quality players like Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde.
Their total spend on summer signings amounted to €137 million, which does not include the hefty salary packages agreed with the returning players or Ousmane Dembele's contract renewal.
Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie arrived on free transfers. But that's two more names to add to the wage bill. It took the activation of four economic levers to finance such a costly transfer window.
It seems as if the board has bet a lot on the club to balance their books by achieving success on the pitch. In that regard, Xavi would be under pressure to achieve a lot with this new-look Barca side.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com