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WHAT HAPPENED?
Messi left Camp Nou in 2021 for Paris Saint-Germain and after spending two seasons in the French capital, the Argentina star headed to the US where he joined David Beckham-owned Inter Miami last summer. Busquets and Alba, too, parted ways with Barcelona at the end of the 2022-23 season to reunite with Messi in Miami.
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Getty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE
While it has been more than a year since all three players exited the Catalan giants, earlier in 2024 Sport reported that the club continue to make payments to the players. The reason is the team’s delayed salary payment structure, made in attempts to ease their financial burdens following the Covid-19 pandemic. The Blaugrana put off paying the likes of Messi, Alba and Busquets during those difficult seasons, meaning they all remain on the club’s salary bill as they wait to be reimbursed.
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However, Mundo Deportivo now claims that Barca are all set to clear all their dues by the end of the 2024-25 season to remove a major financial burden. The final settlement, though, will not appear in the club’s books for the 2024-25 financial year as it was shown in the account for 2020-21, which brought the club’s losses to €481 million (£407m/$536m).
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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR BARCELONA?
Hansi Flick’s side, who currently enjoy a three-point lead over arch-rivals Real Madrid at the top of La Liga, will next face Sevilla on October 20. They club is slowly but surely easing it’s financial issues.
