Barcelona Fined €15.7m by Spanish Tax Authorities for Not Declaring Player Payments

In the latest financial setback for BarcelonaFootball Club, Spanish tax authorities have hit the Catalan club with a €15.7 million fine for allegedly withholding information on player compensation.

It is reported that the club failed to declare correctly the compensation received by two former players, Alex Song and Arda Turan, after their contracts were mutually terminated. The club also allegedly failed to declare the cost of loaning Audi cars to its players and the cost incurred on chartered flights.

This is not the first time Barcelona has been penalized for breaching financial regulations. In 2014, the club was hit with a transfer ban for two consecutive windows due to violations regarding the signing of minors. And in 2019, the club was fined €300,000 for tapping up Antoine Griezmann.

Additionally, the club is currently under the scrutiny of Spanish and UEFA authorities for payments made to former vice-president of the Referee's Committee, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, between 2001 and 2018.

The current investigation dates back to 2015 and began in 2019 when Spanish Treasury inspectors found that the cost of flights and cars could not be counted as part of salary, leading to the breach of regulations.

Barcelona is already dealing with a financial crisis and is aiming to raise €150m in player sales this summer while significantly reducing its wage bill to comply with La Liga rules. The club has also been rumored to be considering re-signing club legend Lionel Messi.

Barcelona has yet to release an official statement on the alleged payment irregularities, and it is unclear whether they plan to contest the decision in the coming days.

With all eyes on Sergio Busquets, FC Barcelona’s first team training session featured USA U-17 goalkeeper Diego Kochen.

Following his announcement to close the chapter on his FC Barcelona career, all eyes at the Barça training session on Wednesday were naturally on Sergio Busquets with many of the leading FC Barcelona players availing of the occasion to offer words of affection for the long-standing player. One player who maintained a low profile in the midst of the emotional farewells was goalkeeper Diego Kochen.

The Miami born player has represented the United States U-17 national team on five occasions and was drafted into first team training by Xavi for the first time. The gesture was acknowledged later in the day on Instagram with a succinct: “Grateful for this experience, FC Barcelona” message.

Despite having played for the US at U-17 level, Kochen is also eligible to represent Venezuela (father) and Peru (mother) despite the player’s initial ambition of climbing the ranks with the Camp Nou club.

Americans at Camp Nou

Barça has recently been home to USMNT players recently such as Konrad de la Fuente and Sergiño Dest, but neither managed to pin down a regular starting place at Camp Nou. At present, the 17-year-old Kochen faces competition at the club from the likes of Iñaki Peña, Arnau Temas or Andar Astralaga.