Barcelona are hopeful NOT to face Champions League ban amidst ongoing financial nightmare

A ban on competing in next season’s Champions League will leave another massive hole in Barcelona’s already shot-to-pieces finances and endanger the club’s capacity to bring in new investment.

But the club are hopeful that UEFA will err on the side of caution when they decide whether or not to kick them out of next season’s tournament, for fear of Barça subsequently being acquitted in Spain and then suing the game’s governing body for lost income.

Even without getting out of the group this season Barcelona still earned around 70m euros from being in Europe and in a more successful season they would expect to earn closer to 120m euros.

That sum would have to be wiped off of next year’s projected income if they have to miss out for a season.

The drop in revenue would mean they will be ordered by La Liga to spend even less on their squad, making it more difficult to register the new contracts of Gavi, Alejandro Balde and Ronald Araujo.

Despite crashing out in the Champions League group stage, the club still made €70m from their exploits in Europe this season

By the end of next week Barcelona are also hoping to finalise the 1.5bn borrowing plan that several of the world’s biggest investment banks have been overseeing on their behalf. It remains to be seen if the possibility of a drop in expected revenue next season could affect that deadline being met.

Barcelona have already been hit by La Liga changing in the rules on what percentage of money raised by selling off future earnings they can spend on the squad.

The club leased 49 per cent of future television rights, and 49 per cent of Barça Studios to investors last summer and they were hoping to do something similar with the club’s merchandising arm this year but La Liga have told them only five percent of money raised this way can go towards increasing permitted squad spend.

Gavi could yet slip through Barca’s fingers if the club is unable to remedy their financial woes

Barcelona maintain they have done nothing wrong and will cooperate fully with UEFA.

And they will cling to the hope that UEFA will be hold back from issuing a ban in case charges in Spain are later dropped or the club win their case, leaving them open to seek damages from UEFA for lost revenue.

The court case in Spain is likely to drag on for years with the prosecutor needing evidence that matches were, in effect, fixed, UEFA’S decision could come before the start of next season as their penal code means they only have to demonstrate an ‘attempt to influence results’.

If the UEFA verdict, expected in July, goes against Barcelona, they would appeal first to UEFA and then to the Court of Arbitration in Sport.