FC Barcelona's financial crisis is seemingly deepening after a bombshell report revealed that the Blaugrana have been unable to pay their players, including captain Lionel Messi.
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The LaLiga side's financial troubles became public after their annual report was released, revealing that the club's debt had risen to €1.173 billion (R21.5 billion).
The report, dated 17 August 2020, was published on Monday, and stated that the Catalan giants have short-term debt of €730 million (R13.4 billion), which is an increase of €225 million (R4.1 billion) in comparison to the previous year.
These figures would have been published at the club's annual general meeting in October last year, but it was postponed due to the coronavirus.
The annual report was released this week so that the three remaining presidential candidates – Joan Laporta, Victor Font and Toni Freixa – can get an overview of the club's financial situation, according to Sport.
However, this is not where the bad news around Barca's financial situation ends. According to Cadena Cope, the club was unable to process the salary payments for the playing squad in December despite the players having agreed to temporary salary cuts.
The club, though, has reportedly promised the players the payment will be processed in February – two months later than agreed.
Check out which Barca stars are among the highest-paid players in LaLiga below:
