“The best sports club in the world”. This is how he congratulated Barcelona fans and the president of Barcelona, ??Joan Laporta, after winning the Basketball League, with a resounding 3-0 win against Real Madrid. The fifth League of the entity this season on the way to full because its futsal team is one victory away from also tying the title. He will do it tomorrow if he wins in Jaén. An unprecedented historical success that gives meaning to Laporta’s phrase. The Blaugrana sections have always been in deficit (48 million losses last season) but they have brought a plus of pride, titles and uniqueness to the club.
Now, and from the top at the Spanish level, Barça is preparing to pass the lime and to put into practice a tough austerity plan announced some time ago. “It is what it is. LaLiga (the soccer employers’ association) forces us to make reductions in the sections to comply with our feasibility plan. The situation is what it is ”, admits the Blaugrana president. “There is no going back. Nikola Mirotic leaves. It is a decision that we made and that we communicated to you weeks ago”, repeated the general manager of basketball, Juan Carlos Navarro.
The most difficult still looms over the blaugrana sections, starting with basketball, which will see its budget cut by 20-25%. In other words, from the approximate 44 million this season it would go down to between 8 and 11 million less. An amount that can be covered in its main measure with the departure of Mirotic, with a contract until 2025, and with the downward renewal of Sarunas Jasikevicius. The coach publicly stated his willingness to lower his salary and now they will have to negotiate his new salary in the coming days. The Lithuanian is out of contract and Barça is counting on him for next season. Three players also end their contractual relationship: Sanli, Kuric and Tobey, the last one with a residual presence on the court. Then there is the matter of Cory Higgins, with a high salary, with a contract until 2024 and with a rosary of injuries on his back. His continuity is not guaranteed. Meanwhile, Nnaji is watching the NBA draft, which takes place this morning, to gauge his options.
“We have a plan and we are going to be competitive to fight for all the titles”, defends Navarro. The former player is very hurt by the way in which Mirotic, just before the final playoff, decided to make public his non-continuance and by stating that the club had not offered him to continue with a low salary. “That’s a lie, yes we did it,” says Navarro.
The basketball team will go to dinner this Wednesday to celebrate the League with all these considerations on their backs, troubles that have not prevented them from recovering from their Euroleague fiasco with a sensational performance in the final against Madrid.
The football team’s fair play problems will not only cause cuts in basketball, but general adjustments. For example, in handball it has been known for months that Ludovic Fàbregas is leaving, they have invited Luka Cindric to leave and the goalkeeper Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas is thinking about his future since he has a good offer from Kiel on the table. These are important references for the public at the Palau, who sadly attend the farewell of some of their figures.
But in the current situation and, with the logical priority that the football team has for the club, the board of directors considers that there is no other formula than that of passing the scissors.
The clear risk is that of a loss of competitiveness. This season only women’s football has been able to reign in Europe. Basketball, handball and roller hockey made it to the semifinals. The domain has been overwhelming in Spain, but the road does not seem to be rosy from now on.
