The president of the Barcelona Football Club, Joan Laporta, has recently suffered a major economic setback due to the team’s embarrassing exit from the qualifying playoffs of the Europa League. This was after the painful defeat to Manchester United in the return match which ended with a 2-1 victory for the hosts. It was widely believed in Catalonia that the team, under the guidance of coach Xavi Hernandez, would make up for the disappointment of their early Champions League exclusion by winning the Europa League title. However, the shock of their elimination has caused the club to suffer significant financial losses.
According to Mundo Deportivo, the club’s exit from the European League has caused a double blow to Laporta and his deputy adviser. Firstly, there is the pain of losing a European championship that was close at hand, and secondly, the financial losses suffered by the club this season due to their failure to reach the quarter-finals of the cup with two ears or win the Europa League Cup. The initial losses are estimated at 26 million euros, and millions more than Laporta had expected in Barcelona’s treasury at the end of the season.
In addition, the club will only receive half a million euros from their exclusion at the hands of United, while the English club will receive 1.5 million as a reward for their candidacy for the final price of the Europa League. The real problem for the club is that they were expecting to receive 70 million euros from their participation in the Champions League and 15 million from winning the Europa League.
Xavi and his team have only won four of their last sixteen continental challenges, against six defeats and the same number of draws. In the last fifteen direct matches, they have been defeated nine times and drawn in five occasions. This record has resulted in a major financial loss for the club and has been a major disappointment for Laporta and his executive assistant.
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