Barcelona seek outside investors in an attempt to ease COVID financial fears

Barcelona are seeking outside investment in a bid to solve their ongoing financial crisis, with the club proactively contacting a number of potential investors.

Much like every other club in world football, Barça's finances have taken a huge hit due to the coronavirus pandemic, yet to make matters worse they were already in financial turmoil prior to the outbreak of the disease.

Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium / JOSEP LAGO/Getty Images

They were forced to embark on a first-team fire sale last year in an attempt to ease the strain on the wage bill, with a number of the club's high earners moving on for either relatively small fees or on free transfers.

Bloomberg report that the club are now looking to another avenue in a bid to generate cash, with a proposal sent to investors which offers them the opportunity to buy between 30%-49% of a new subsidiary consisting of 'digital assets, worldwide football academies, sports knowledge group and merchandising businesses'.

American investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are said to be advising on the deal, with yearly revenue for the new entity expected to reach €386.1m (£347.9m) with earnings of €210.7m (£189.9m) in 2024-2025.

While Barcelona have declined to comment on the matter, their financial woes have been made no secret of in recent times.

Barcelona have made some hugely expensive purchases of late / Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

The club have been far from shy in the transfer market, with the purchases of Philippe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann all ranked within the top ten transfer fees ever paid for a player.

Coupled with the extortionate wages on offer at Camp Nou, the La Liga club have been forced to seek other means in an attempt to clear their debt which has now doubled to €488m (£439.6m), with the impact of COVID-19 seeing their yearly revenue fall by €200m (£180.2m) last year.

With the Barcelona presidential elections set to take place on 24 January, the new man at the helm will have a huge task on his hands as they look to balance the books at one of the world's biggest clubs, while also attempting to deliver on-field success.