Barcelona to lose over €20 million if they fail to qualify for Champions League Round of 16 - Reports
Barcelona could reportedly lose more than €20 million if they fail to make it to the UEFA Champions League (UCL) Round of 16.
The Catalan giants spent heavily in the summer transfer market, signing seven first-team players to recover from a sub-par 2021/22 season.
They were relegated to the Europa League and subsequently knocked out of the competition's quarter-finals, and also finished 13 points behind arch-rivals Real Madrid in the La Liga table.
While they have been in splendid form in the league this season, leading the table with 22 points after eight matches, their Champions League knockout hopes hang by a thread.
According to Mundo Deportivo, failure to qualify for the Round of 16 of Europe's premier club football competition will cost them north of €20 million.
The report claims that even a Europa League title triumph wouldn't help them recover the cost of Champions League elimination from the group stage.
Barcelona in 2022/23 Champions League
Round of 16 hopefuls Bayern stretch their unbeaten run in the group stage to a record-extending 32 games 🔝
#UCL https://t.co/23Q3FeURg6
Barcelona were drawn in a tough Group C, alongside Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Viktoria Plzen in the 2022/23 Champions League. They have so far managed to win just one match, while drawing one and losing two.
The Blaugrana currently have four points to their name and are third in the table behind Bayern and Inter. While the German champions are eight points ahead, the Nerazzurri have three points more than the La Liga side.
Barcelona's latest Champions League encounter ended in a 3-3 draw with Inter on Wednesday, October 12. They took a first-half lead through Ousmane Dembele but were pegged back by strikes from Nicolo Barella and Lautaro Martinez.
Robert Lewandowski restored parity in the 82nd minute but Robin Gosens sent the travelers back ahead at Camp Nou with just a minute left in normal time. However, Blaugrana's Polish hitman had another trick up his sleeve as he scored deep in stoppage time to salvage a point.
Barcelona 1-0 Inter
Barcelona 1-1 Inter
Barcelona 1-2 Inter
Barcelona 2-2 Inter
Barcelona 2-3 Inter
Barcelona 3-3 Inter
Incredible 🤯
#UCL https://t.co/ur90sorEAr
The draw left Barcelona with a slim chance of making it to the knockouts. They will have to win at least one of their remaining two matches and avoid defeat in both. At the same time, Inter have to fail to win any of their remaining two encounters for the Catalans to make it through.
Should the Italian giants defeat Viktoria Plzen in their next Champions League assignment, the Spanish club will drop down to the Europa League.