Barcelona have found themselves at the centre of another financial storm, with reports from El Periodico and the Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan police) alleging irregularities in the 2018 deal to sign Malcom from Bordeaux for €42m (£35m/$46m). Investigators claim Barca paid €10m to Business Futbol Espana (BFE) for “intermediation services” that either never existed or were significantly overvalued.
The payments, made between 2018 and 2020, were allegedly used to disguise tax obligations by altering the original employment contract between the club and the player. According to police, the adjustment reduced the declared income and effectively bypassed Treasury payments owed from the transfer.
The scandal is part of a wider investigation into financial irregularities under Bartomeu’s presidency, with former executives including Oscar Grau, Jordi Mestre Masdeu, and Francisco Schroder Quijano also implicated. Prosecutors believe the group mismanaged club funds and concealed the real nature of several payments from the board.
In a related probe, Bartomeu has also been charged over alleged €30m (£25m/$33m) in commissions tied to transfers of Neymar and Antoine Griezmann claims that stem from a complaint filed by current president Laporta. The Mossos report suggests such practices caused damages worth millions to the club and its shareholders.
Investigators discovered that the contract originally signed with Malcom included €10m in payments spread over three years, later changed to €1.5m directly and €8.4m routed through BFE. This alteration, described as a “clear modification” by Mossos officers, effectively removed the player’s income tax withholding of around 50 percent.
Further evidence pointed to a second “framework agreement” between Barca and BFE, predated to 2019 but actually signed in 2020. Out of 12 invoices examined, nine were deemed unrelated to real services, potentially false billing amounting to €740,000. Police suggest these were designed to complete the €10m owed to intermediaries during the Malcom deal.
The investigation remains ongoing, with Spanish courts yet to determine whether formal charges will be filed against the club itself or just the individuals involved. Laporta’s board has reportedly conducted a “preventive tax regularization” to avoid sanctions and distance the club from past management’s practices.
