Barca won't panic despite €164m debt

Barcelona president Joan Laporta says there is no need to panic despite Thursday revealing the club’s debts to be as high as €164m.

This figure is a significant increase on the arrears which was claimed by interim president Enric Reyna before the elections in May but Laporta is remaining calm.

“We will present a deficit of around €164m,” Laporta told Spanish radio network Onda Cero.

“That is how the club is now but fortunately this is not to serious due to the size of the club and our objective over the next year is to reduce this to zero.”

Laporta, who sanctioned the purchase of Brazilian star Ronaldinho this summer, said that he was happy with the planning for the new season and felt that the tour of the USA, where they registered a win, a loss and a draw had been a success.

“Still we are in pre-season, I believe that we have given a good image, there is a good atmosphere in the team and the board have promoted the brand of Barca in the United States,” he said.