FC Barcelona Hit With Huge Multi-Million Dollar Blow By National Court
FC Barcelona has been hit with a huge economic blow on Friday as confirmed by the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of Spain’s National High Court and reported on by outlets such as AS and El Chiringuito.
Barca will have to pay a fine of almost $25 million (€23 million) after the National High Court confirmed a ruling previously made by the Central Economic-Administrative Court known as the TEAC in Spain.
The decision was made in connection with a resolution related to income tax between 2012 and 2015, and the remuneration received by agents representing some of Barca’s players at the time.
Barca filed an appeal against the TEAC ruling handed down in June 2020, which was made for “withholding/payment on account of personal income from work or professional income tax for the periods between January 2012 and June 2015,” as explained by Mundo Deportivo.
The club had to meet a tax settlement of $9.45 million (€8,764,118) but has also been hit with penalties of $3.27 million (€3,031,893) from 2012, $4.7 million (€4,348,402) from 2013, $5.6 million (€5,172,955) from 2014 and $1.52 million (€1,414,158) from 2015.
The TEAC stated that “from the facts found by the Inspectorate, it appears that the payments made by the Club have been made in the name and on behalf of the players who are the actual recipients of the services provided by the agents” and that the agents “are providing a service commissioned by the Club or are representing the Club”.
“This is not proven in any way and the reality reflected in the documents in the file is contrary to these circumstances, since the agents represent the players and act in their interests. The Inspectorate concludes that the relationship between FCB and the agents only serves to cover the payments made by the Club to the players. This assessment is shared by the Chamber,” a statement shared by AS concluded.
A January 2012 to June 2015 timeframe takes in the reign of Barca’s previous president Josep Bartomeu, but the fine complicates matters for his successor Joan Laporta.
Barca is currently mired in debt thanks to economic problems that arose during Bartomeu’s presidency, and has trouble competing on the transfer market or navigating Financial Fair Play whenever the new contracts of fresh signings or existing first team squad stars need registering.
On Thursday, MARCA reported that Barca needs to raise $108 million (€100 million) to “sign normally” again and return to the 1:1 rule.
