World football is in a weird place right now.
Premier League clubs are pulling clear of their European counter-parts as the financial effects of the pandemic take hold on the continent, and one of the hardest-hit clubs during this time has been Barcelona.
La Blaugrana have amassed massive debts, but their use of so-called ‘economic levers’ this summer allowed them to rack up a massive spending bill – bringing in the likes of Jules Kounde, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha for huge money.
Barca quote-on-quote ‘won’ the transfer window, and while their business was impressive on paper, they were taking something of a calculated risk with their spending.
Unfortunately for Barca, that risk doesn’t look like it’s going to pay off.
Indeed, for all intents and purposes, Barcelona are out of the Champions League.
If Inter Milan beat either Viktoria Plzen or Bayern Munich, Barca will be eliminated, and even if Inter lose both of their matches, Barca need to pick up six points from their remaining two games to go through.
The reality is that Barca are very likely to be eliminated from Europe’s elite competition at the group stages once again, and this will incur some serious financial ramifications.
Barca’s budget for the year was banking on making the quarter-finals of the Champions League and winning La Liga, but now, both of those things look unlikely, so they will have to raise funds in another way.
They could pull some more ‘economic levers’ by selling things such as TV rights, image rights or sponsorship deals, but the quickest and most risk-averse way of raising cash would be to sell a big-name player.
Frenkie De Jong is one player who could be placed onto the market. After all, he very nearly left Camp Nou for Manchester United this summer, and given his issues with unpaid wages and Barca’s potential impending financial hit, he could be a prime candidate for a sale.
In our view, if De Jong is going to be leaving Barcelona, Liverpool need to be all over this one.
The Reds are desperate for new midfield options, and they have been linked with De Jong in the past – Jose Enrique even described the Dutchman as the ‘perfect’ midfielder for the Reds.
With Barca potentially in a spot of bother economically, Liverpool need to pounce on De Jong and pick up what could be a bargain.
It’s never nice to see a football club struggling, but sadly, this is a dog-eat-dog world and Barcelona’s toil may well be other clubs’ opportunity and Liverpool should be taking advantage if they can.
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