Barcelona chief asks to "save" club with alarming £426m declaration

Barcelona chief Eduard Romeu has made an alarming declaration claiming that £427million is needed to save the club from the mess they currently find themselves in.

The Spanish side are deep in financial trouble with debts in the region of €1billion (£849.5m). As a result, Barca couldn't afford to offer Lionel Messi a new deal last summer and the Argentine subsequently joined Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer.

Despite securing the signings of Chelsea's Andreas Christensen and AC Milan's Franck Kessie on free transfers, the club are now unable to register the pair due to their salary cap, according to The Athletic.

"The number doing the most damage is asset imbalance," Romeu told Sport. "The negative capital of €500m. You could add €150m to that in losses this season if we didn't do anything. I said it before, if someone wants give me €500m... That is what we need to save Barca."

First team players Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba have agreed to take a salary cut to comply with La Liga's salary cap requirements. The club were offered help by La Liga through a CVC investment deal proposed by the league, which Romeu revealed will be rejected by the club. "It's a bad deal," he said.

"For us, despite all the pressure we have received and the Fair Play issue we always have to keep in mind. From a financial point of view, it's settled and I think the president [Joan Laporta] has been very clear."

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Barca reportedly still owe £98m in transfer fees on four different players: Miralem Panic, Frenkie de Jong, Sergino Dest and Philippe Coutinho. As a result of their financial crisis, it's likely they'll have to sell key players this summer.

De Jong is Erik ten Hag's main target at Manchester United, with the Red Devils believed to be confident of securing a deal for the former Ajax man. If he does depart, it's been reported they'll look for Manchester City's Bernardo Silva as a replacement.

But despite being cash strapped, Bernardo is apparently Xavi's top midfield target for the summer transfer window. They are also eager to wrap up a deal for Robert Lewandowski, but have been unable to agree anything with Bayern Munich yet.