Carles Tusquets, the head of interim managing committee of FC Barcelona spoke with RAC1 and discussed the current state of affairs of the club, possible winter signings, the upcoming elections and much more.
This Thursday, December 3rd, Carles Tusquets, the main figure in the interim managing committee, expressed what the current situation is at FC Barcelona. Not only did he include the on-going situations but also what may come for the club.
On the elections:
“If the Covid allows it, the elections will be on January 24. This is agreed with Catalunya government: with Interior, Health and Sport. It is the date that makes it easier for candidates to collect signatures.”
Regarding the venues:
“Because we have decided for the first time in history not to concentrate the vote only in the Camp Nou but in ten venues: five in Catalonia and another five in the rest of the country, it means that we also have to depend on the other communities. They will be at the Camp Nou, Girona, Lleida, Tarragona, Tortosa, Andorra, Madrid, Valencia, Palma and Sevilla.”
On the salary adjustment:
“What we have done to postpone the salaries with the players will mean the value of 4-5% of the club’s annual budget for four years. There was a part of the salary cut that was agreed with President Bartomeu and what we have done is postponed the largest part, about 170 million, for four seasons.”
How this affects the players:
“In the month of January the players payroll cannot be paid. In January the players will not get paid, it is fine. Players have two major payouts in January and July. This has been postponed, as have the bonuses for winning titles.”
On meetings with the candidates to the Presidency:
“I will speak with the candidates when they have the necessary signatures and are approved as candidates. I will explain the economic, social and sports situation to everyone together at a table, with the maximum possible transparency.”
Regarding the financial management:
“The economic management could have been done better, with the increase in debt and the wage bill, but they have also generated new income for the club. I dare not put a grade. I already said what I had to say as president of the Economic Commission.”
On how the debt is being managed:
“Espai Barça could not be financed as agreed in the referendum because the current balance of the club responded to an increase in debt. The credit from Goldman Sachs has been destined for the Estadi Johan Cruyff and in the remodeling of the Camp Nou, it is not destined to pay the salaries of the players. We will have to allocate part of the money because there is part of the stadium structure that is falling. Pieces of the ceiling have fallen at some entrance door to the stadium. Work must be done urgently.”
Regarding a few uncertain bills:
“There are bills that we will pass on to the next president and we do not want to sign because we do not see them clearly. We don’t want to take responsibility. It is an issue to be decided by the next board of directors. They are things that are not perfectly formulated or that their price is not market. From ’Barçagate’, about the Pwc report, the only thing I see is that the invoices were chopped up to evade an internal regulation of the club. The report says that it is not an exorbitant price, within the market.”
Neymar’s possible return:
“If he comes for free it could be raised, but if there are no sales there is no money to sign. At this moment it would be unaffordable, unless the next president has a miracle on his hands.”
On what would have happened if Messi left last summer:
“Economically, I would have sold Messi last summer. This is a situation that the coaching staff would have to agree on, and I have no input in this matter. Economically speaking, it would have been desirable, because La Liga is demanding salary limits that would have helped the budget situation.”
This concludes Carles Tusquets interview with RAC1.
