Why Did FC Barcelona Pay €8 Million to a South American Scout?

FC Barcelona’s financial troubles seem to worsen by the day as the club’s true dealings are coming out after Joan Laporta’s press conference. Laporta is the president of FC Barcelona; he took over from Josep Bartomeu, a man responsible for a lot of the financial ruin.

Laporta revealed that the club now has an overall debt of €1.35 billion. The figure is extraordinary in its own right, but Laporta revealed another shocking detail. The club was paying €8 million per year to a club scout in South America.

That figure is exorbitant for any scout, but given the business Barcelona have done over the years, it’s understandable why they were looking to South America in particular. Their academy, La Masia, is famous for uncovering world-class talent and some of their best players in recent memory have come from South America.

An FC Barcelona scout in Argentina found their former club captain Lionel Messi (who recently left the club for Paris Saint Germain (PSG) on a free transfer). They also signed Neymar Jr. from Brazil when he was just 17. Incidentally, he too left Barcelona for PSG for the world record transfer fee.

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Several clubs have numerous scouts in Brazil and Argentina, but the sum Barcelona are paying is another in a long-list of disastrous financial decisions taken by the club. The last South-American player the club signed was Brazilian full-back Emerson Royal.

FC Barcelona and their prospects in the Spanish top flight

Emerson is a good player at full-back, but Barca’s defensive woes still need addressing. Their captain, Gerard Pique and left-back, Jordi Alba are both in their thirties and will need to be replaced soon. However, they do have a good young right-back in USMNT star Sergino Dest, with Uruguayan defender Ronald Araujo showing some promise.

This is a young Barcelona squad which will try to compete at the top of the league without their talisman. Messi’s departure has affected the club, but there were positive signs in the first La Liga game. Barcelona rolled over Real Sociedad in their season-opener, winning 4-2.

This season will be a big test for the young Barcelona side. Nevertheless, the team is still stacked with talent and if everything goes to plan, they could drive Barca to the La Liga title.

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