BARCELONA
Could Barcelona be excluded from the Champions League?
Reports suggest the Catalan club be left out of the UEFA Champions League for up to three seasons.
Barcelona could be excluded from the Champions League for up to three years, according to German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, which cites sources close to UEFA and the Catalan club itself. However, UEFA itself have assured AS that it has no news regarding the matter.
In fact, the case may not yet have reached them as it is still in the hands of the Financial Control Committee, an independent body that can impose sanctions in the event of financial non-compliance. Barça also claim to have no knowledge of the investigation.
Barça said to have dodged UEFA rules
According to the German media outlet, the reason for the sanction is non-compliance with UEFA’s financial regulations, whereby clubs are obliged to balance expenses and revenues. The most recent three-year cycle is always assessed.
In September, the LaLiga club announced a net profit of €304 million ($335m). With this figure, the club appeared have avoided the possible sanctions that had been under discussion for a year.
UEFA’s financial regulations only account for turnover directly attributable to football activity. However, the latest annual report of the heavily indebted club also included millions of euros in revenue from the sale of future TV and marketing rights that may not be accounted for by UEFA.
The club’s balance sheets “a disaster”
The German media outlet speaks of confidential talks within UEFA that describe the club’s balance sheets as “a disaster”. Welt am Sonntag speculate on a Champions League suspension “of two to three years... The bigger the losses, the bigger the sanction,” said sources consulted by the media outlet.
UEFA had already fined Barcelona €500,000 (€550,000) this summer. After that, the Financial Control Committee concluded that the club had falsely declared profits from the sale of intangible assets that did not constitute relevant income.
The information comes a day after Barça and Madrid won their legal battle in defence of the Super League with the ruling coming from the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.