29 Jul 2026 06:41:17
Ed1, you mentioned we were interested in Kounde pre Iraola. Does that interest still there and do Barca considering selling him? He's a good fit I think, can cover both RB and CB to a good level.

{Ed001's Note - the interest is still there, as far as I am aware. The club identified the targets during the season and Iraola just signed off and gave a few suggestions, such as Rayan. Barca are still in enormous debt of over 2bn (yes that is billion, not million) and so will always have to consider good offers for their players.}

1.) 29 Jul 2026
29 Jul 2026 07:02:26
Debt of two billion is absolutely wild! How on earth is a club allowed to still operate while owing so much money?
Surely they should be made to sell players to finance the crippling debt, or face a similar punishment to what Rangers received.

{Ed001's Note - it is crazy. No bank will call in the debt though as they are scared of the reaction of Barca fans.}

2.) 29 Jul 2026
29 Jul 2026 07:09:02
Wow £2bil. Even after selling off all the future TV rights and whatever else. Still can buy £70m Gordon and others. Just wow.

3.) 29 Jul 2026
29 Jul 2026 07:13:09
Do you rate Kounde Ed?
Experienced, and versatile. I'd be happy with him at a decent price!

{Ed001's Note - yes, very good player, though a better centre-back than right-back imo. He does seem to have a few injury problems though in the past.}

4.) 29 Jul 2026
29 Jul 2026 07:27:24
Well, with the incoming financial crisis, those banks might just have to call in any and all debt, regardless of upsetting football fans.
But, you'd think Madrid would be pushing the legal itself to impose stricter sanctions on Barca, especially while Barca have been so successful in the league.
Anyway, back to football, if Kounde could be persuaded, I think he'd be a good signing.

{Ed001's Note - the banks can't afford to as they know every Barca fan would pull their money and cause a run on them.}

5.) 29 Jul 2026
29 Jul 2026 07:35:47
Would he be above Frimpong/Bradley in the pecking order? I see him as a mainly RB rather than a CB so I think he'd move if he were starter.

6.) 29 Jul 2026
29 Jul 2026 07:42:40
Can't get my head around this 2bn in debt and still able to spend.
Surely, UEFA can do something? Clubs in this country are getting fines and point deductions.

7.) 29 Jul 2026
29 Jul 2026 07:43:38
Is a lot of the debt stadium upgrades something like EUR1.4b. Think that's been spread over 30 years.
Think their general running debts have come down over the past two seasons.
But I don't think they have much wiggle room because of all the stuff they have sold off.


Was Madrid not in the same boat years ago, and the government bailed them out by buying their stadium, then giving it back to them.

8.) 29 Jul 2026
29 Jul 2026 08:32:17
I wonder if the Barca fans still say "it's not my money so I don't care"?

9.) 29 Jul 2026
29 Jul 2026 08:34:05
If this was an English team, they would be hammered. The Spanish FA are as corrupt as they come, and have been under previous criminal investigations.

It's the typical example of one law for the English, another for them. And it goes well beyond football and straight into politics.

Most of it stems from one thing, jealousy.

10.) 29 Jul 2026
29 Jul 2026 08:37:16
Ed, do you know if Barca's debt is still growing or is it something that have got a hold of and are reducing? 2 billion in debt is a quite staggering amount for a football club. Despite their global exposure, even elite football clubs are relative minnows compared to the businesses that usually deal with figures that large.

{Ed001's Note - they have made it worse by selling off future income, so it is going to be a problem that will never be reduced.}

11.) 29 Jul 2026
29 Jul 2026 09:13:07
Ron, sounds more like the board are saying it's not our money, we don't care!

12.) 29 Jul 2026
29 Jul 2026 09:33:44
Will Kounde start over Frimpong and Bradley? He mainly plays rb instead of cb, and would he move to be a bench player?

{Ed025's Note - why would he be on the bench Strad?, if he cant get in before a headless chicken and a bag of crisps he has no future in football mate..

13.) 29 Jul 2026
29 Jul 2026 09:40:56
Barcelona's actual debt sits closer to the 1.4 billion euros range rather than 2 billion euros. A large part of their current debt comes from the financing of the massive redevelopment of the Spotify Camp Nou and surrounding facilities.

This is project specific debt that does not use club assets as collateral and is to be paid back over the long term using the future revenue generated by the upgraded stadium.

14.) 29 Jul 2026
29 Jul 2026 09:51:28
Komza,
Or Kounde?

15.) 29 Jul 2026
29 Jul 2026 10:00:08
@Ron, Yes the Barca fans were rioting against spending the money on Gordon. Then again, they may just be fans of the game.

16.) 29 Jul 2026
29 Jul 2026 10:19:06
@fatwallet,............"Clubs in this country are getting fines and point deductions."

Except of course, Man Utd.

They seem to get away with it. Over £1b in debt and talks of building a £2b stadium.

Crazy.

17.) 29 Jul 2026
29 Jul 2026 10:49:44
Cityh seem to be doing well outside the rules (possibly), and God knows how Chelski stay within PSR rules too.
Think, if your legal team are big and strong enough, you're fine; if not, you're in for it.
We still don't know outcome of Cityh ruling, corruption is everywhere, not just Spain.

18.) 29 Jul 2026
29 Jul 2026 10:50:47
Barca are so skint that their pre-season tour is to Birmingham! I assume they got a good deal on Ryanair flights.

19.) 29 Jul 2026
29 Jul 2026 08:54:17
And with the greatest respect to Ed001, this has nothing to do with Barca fans taking out capital and a run on banks. In the grand scheme of things, a few billion is small fry, and i mean barely legible. It was Goldman Sachs who provided the loan (1.5 billion) for stadia renovation; a few billion to them is like a pound in our pocket.

Do you think UEFA, or the Spanish FA would let one of the greatest names in historical football context, collapse financially (? ) Of course not.

{Ed001's Note - it doesn't matter how much it is to Goldman Sachs or any other lending institution, it matters how much it is compared to Barca's income. The Spanish FA do not have the money for them to do anything, which is why they have sold their cup finals to Saudi Arabia for years.}

20.) 29 Jul 2026
29 Jul 2026 11:11:14
Ed01, it would be interesting to see if Levante would be able to get away with owing a tiny fraction that same 2bn that Barca owe as debt.

Won't be holding my breathe.

{Ed001's Note - they couldn't get those kind of loans, they don't make enough revenue.}

21.) 29 Jul 2026
29 Jul 2026 10:52:54
Ed, you know whether is Rayan a possibility for this summer? Or next summer is more likely?

{Ed001's Note - I have no idea sorry. I would expect they will let him go for the right price but I have no idea whether we would be willing to pay that.}

22.) 29 Jul 2026
29 Jul 2026 11:26:45
So, if Kounde comes, Bradley will likely go.

23.) 29 Jul 2026
29 Jul 2026 11:37:52
There are huge question marks over Frimpong and Bradley is still recovering from injury and might not ever be dependable, so he will not be short of game time.

24.) 29 Jul 2026
29 Jul 2026 12:25:50
Kounde would start for every Premier League team at either RB or CB, except Arsenal, in my opinion. In my opinion, Timber, Kimmich and Hakimi are the only superior RB's in world football. He's probably in the top 50 CB's as well, which is just an added bonus given Gomez can't be relied on.

Barcelona would not be selling if they weren't so poorly run financially.