90min

Ex-Barcelona board member warns club will fail to sign top summer targets

By Jamie Spencer

Toni Freixa has claimed Barcelona won't sign Robert Lewandowski and others this summer
Toni Freixa has claimed Barcelona won't sign Robert Lewandowski and others this summer / Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/GettyImages
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Former Barcelona board member and presidential candidate Toni Freixa has openly questioned the club’s ability to sign its top transfer targets this summer amid ongoing severe financial trouble.

Barça have badly struggled financially for the last few years, exacerbated further by the Covid-19 pandemic. They were forced to release Lionel Messi last year because they couldn’t afford to offer him a new contract, but have been heavily linked with several expensive new signings.

Freixa, who ran for the presidency against Josep Maria Bartomeu in 2015 and against Joan Laporta last year, has suggested that potential deals for Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde, Raphinha and Bernardo Silva will be beyond the club’s means this summer.

“Do you know that Lewandowski, Koundé, Raphinha, and Bernardo Silva will not come? You know that, right?” he tweeted this week.

Listen now to 90min's Talking Transfers podcast, with Scott Saunders, Graeme Bailey, Harry Symeou & Toby Cudworth. On the latest show they discuss Raheem Sterling & Gabriel Jesus' futures, Chelsea's interest in Jules Kounde & Robert Lewandowski plus Man Utd's Frenkie de Jong pursuit. Available on all audio platforms and the 90min YouTube channel.

Earlier this month, financial director Eduard Romeu painted a grave picture of Barça’s money situation when he admitted it will take a €500m cash injection to address the club’s current asset imbalance against the backdrop of huge debt.

“The number doing the most damage is asset imbalance,” Romeu said. “The negative capital of €500m. I said it before, if someone wants give me €500m...that is what we need to save Barca.”

Barça are currently embarking on the renovation of Camp Nou, with work beginning this summer and continuing until 2025. The first-team will temporarily relocate to the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium during the 2023/24 season and have pledged to upgrade the facilities there.

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