"None of the investors who had agreed to participate in the financing of Espai Barça has backed down, but now they are all waiting for the club to explain in detail and in depth what the consequences of the Negreira case may be in sports competitions" sources informed about the evolution of the negotiations assured this newspaper yesterday. Several weeks ago the financiers had given their agreement to the operation and the negotiations had focused on the club's demand to be able to refinance it after five years if market conditions improved, that is, if interest rates fell. But they expected to receive explanations from the club about the possible consequences of the Negreira case. (See La Vanguardia of March 11.)
This matter, in which the millionaire payments of the club to which he was vice president of the Referees Committee are being investigated, has been gaining importance and jumping into the international arena. The potential lenders of the Espai Barça had already made it clear that the effect of the scandal on the club's image was not an insoluble problem. They had also been informed that in the case of the Spanish League, the sanction could not imply relegation.
But UEFA's announcement that it has launched an investigation, a step prior to the opening of a file, which in turn could conclude by prohibiting Barça from participating in its competitions, especially the Champions League, has increased the concern of financiers. .
In recent days, they have sent Joan Laporta, president of Barça, through the Goldman Sachs bank, a questionnaire from the different investors with about twenty questions on, among others, the possible consequences of the Negreira case.
Sources close to the president of Barça have told this newspaper that the club has already answered a good part of the requests for information and that only a few remain to be answered. Likewise, Laporta has sent a personal letter to investors, explaining his vision of the situation.
But for investors, according to the sources consulted, this is still not enough. On the one hand, they expect the club to explain in as much detail as possible what happened in the Negreira affair, in order to have a full understanding of what happened. It must not be forgotten that what happened highlights the functioning of the club's management and the possible breach of the basic rules of good governance of an entity. For this reason, they are waiting for a firmer letter from Laporta, in which the president talks about "facts and explains his analysis of whether or not there will be sanctions from UEFA," say the sources involved in the negotiations.
Precisely, this coming week a senior official from the US bank that directs the financing operation will meet with the club's executives in an attempt to clear up doubts and to formalize the agreement according to the scheduled schedule, next Friday, March 31.
Investors "want to know what is the worst possible scenario that could arise from the matter, if the club can be sanctioned and be left out of official European competitions," they conclude.
This is an operation of 1,500 million euros that the club has been negotiating since the previous term, when the financial team of Josep Maria Bartomeu's board signed an agreement with Goldman Sachs. At that time, the amount was much less, 900 million. The North American bank, together with JP Morgan, is in charge of looking for the money, attracting bank and institutional investors.
In addition to the outbreak of the Negreira scandal, the final stretch of the negotiations has also been affected by the hiring of a little-known Turkish construction company, Limak, to undertake the renovation of the Camp Nou, which did not sit well with some investors. Now, a dangerous storm of instability is shaking global finances, although sources insist that the intention of investors continues to be to close the operation on schedule and on the terms foreseen. A financing operation for a maximum of 26 years and 6% interest.
