Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on April 4, 2022 - April 10, 2022

It was an almighty fall. “One of the great squanderings of a legacy of sporting and financial pre-eminence football has ever known”, was how The Daily Telegraph saw it. FC Barcelona had plunged from the world’s richest — and favourite, in many eyes — club to the brink of oblivion.

What followed was less a fire sale than an arsonists’ convention: even a tearful Lionel Messi had to be dragged from the burning building. Yet, after the last game before the international break and less than a season later, Barca skipper Gerard Pique had the temerity to tweet: “We are back.”

His vibrant young team had just eviscerated eternal rivals Real Madrid 4-0 in Madrid. Catalan superiority was such that their latest clash was widely dubbed “El Thrashico”. It was the culmination of a run of five consecutive victories — four of them by four goals or more — and only one defeat this year. It’s the form that makes qualification for next season’s Champions League a probability and has the hallmarks of a genuine revival.

But off the field, even more dramatic strides have been made. That is if you can put a positive spin on piling up even more debt, being at the mercy of the lenders and selling your soul to a controversial streaming company. The people’s club is now in bed with US bank Goldman Sachs, which is not unknown in Malaysia, and a Swedish audio/podcast operator that is a long way from being considered blue chip. But a desperate situation demanded more than tinkering.

Barca were once admired for wearing Unicef on their shirts and donating to the cause. This was when they lived up to their tagline of being “more than a club”. But in 2011, they succumbed to the laundromat role, facilitating the sports-washing of Qatar, first with its foundation and then airline, before Rakuten took over. Now, they’ve thrown in the stadium as well.

After 122 years of snubbing grubby commercialism, the Camp Nou, one of the great cathedrals of football, must now accept a prefix from a sponsor. And of all people, Spotify, which couldn’t be further removed from the socially aware principles of the club and left-leaning Catalonia. The deal caused club CEO Ferran Reverter to resign and has met with predictable outrage from fans who may yet find solace in knowing that no one will use it. But to critics, it highlights how far the club has fallen. The harshest are saying it has gone from giving money to children to “stealing” it from musicians.

The refinancing actually began even before Messi left. A €500 million loan from Goldman Sachs narrowly averted bankruptcy in May 2021, but still couldn’t prevent the departure of its superstar. Or of others whose oligarchian incomes were the main cause of the problem — 110% of club revenue going to player salaries. Those, like Pique, who stayed, had to accept savage cuts.

After the upheavals of summer, Barca struggled in the new season, winning only four of their first 13 games. Decline hung heavy from the steepling tiers and manager Ronaldo Koeman paid the price with his job. It was not until the November arrival of Xavi Hernandez — a rookie manager but a club legend from the golden years — that things began to pick up. But he was taking over a broken club: ninth in La Liga and playing before its lowest weekend home crowd (37,278) for 20 years.

Unlike his superiors in the boardroom, Xavi reverted to the club’s traditional template: not only playing the old possession game but picking graduates from the fabled La Masia academy. Fortunate to inherit the richest crop since Messi himself emerged, he was also able to bolster the side with four recruits in the January transfer window. Adama Traore came on loan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Dani Alves were free agents, all of whom might be termed judicious signings. But Ferran Torres cost €55 million from Manchester City!

At first glance, it seems the Spanish striker should be going the other way. But no, this was near-bankrupt Barca making moneybags City an offer they couldn’t refuse. City had a surplus of attackers but Barca had anything but a surplus of cash. Or did they? You could call it a €1.5 billion Christmas present. On Dec 20, another deal with Goldman Sachs — including a long-term revamp of the stadium — was a game-changer. And Xavi was able to sign the player he thinks can spearhead a long-term revival.

Barca claim the terms are “better than other banks could offer”, but they’re in hock to the tune of €2 billion. The New York bank was one of the backers of the defunct European Super League that Barca briefly saw as its salvation. For a club owned by members (socios), it is surrendering the family silver. But new president Joan Laporta says there was no other way for the beloved Blaugrana to regain its mojo (and remain in the Champions League) than to take risks. And he may have got lucky.

With Covid restrictions lifting and tourists coming back — Camp Nou is Barcelona’s No 1 attraction — filling coffers are helping dispel the gloom. But it is on the field where the real joy is being felt. Youngsters Pedri and Gavi are evoking comparison with Messi himself; the swagger is back and the fans are responding — 54,507 at the last home game with lowly Osasuna. The anticipated El Clasico spinoff is still to come but it can already be said the club’s lost soul has been rediscovered: Xavi has put the Barca back in Barcelona.

Torres may not be the only new star to welcome. Leeds United’s Brazilian ace Raphinia and AC Milan’s Frank Kessie, both free agents, have agreed terms and Barca are being linked with every other player in the gossip columns. Even Erling Haaland and Mo Salah have been mentioned. Explains Jordi Cruyff, son of the immortal Johann and now part of the recruitment team, “Players will come to us for less money. They just want to play for Barcelona.”

It’s true that Barca still has the pull, the climate, the lifestyle that few can match. One who is missing it is Messi and there’s even talk of rescuing him from his Parisian nightmare. He may be past his best but where better than the Camp Nou to reignite his fire? It’s surely no more unlikely than the transformation of enfant terrible, Ousmane Dembele. The Frenchman’s €128 million arrival in 2017 is widely seen as the deal that broke the club’s back. Poor form and injuries have meant he was booed on the pitch until Xavi said he wanted him to stay. Since then, he has shown why the club paid so much for him and has become a cult figure.

Barca will survive but will be under tremendous pressure. It just has to keep winning — and paying the interest. What Xavi is executing is more than a recovery, but whether it will be a club that’s recognisable when the money men have done with it remains the €2 billion question.


Bob Holmes is a long-time sportswriter specialising in football

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