CASH-STRAPPED BARCA SET TO LOSE £18M IF KNOCKED OUT OF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

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Barcelona’s failure to beat Inter Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday night could have dire financial consequences for the struggling club, according to Spanish publication, Mundo Deportivo.

If Inter Milan defeats group bottom-dwellers Viktoria Plzen at the San Siro the next week, the Spanish team, which had a dramatic 3-3 draw on Wednesday night at the Nou Camp, might be eliminated from the competition.

The Spanish newspaper has detailed how much money Barcelona stands to lose if they are unable to win their final two games and other results go in their favour.

According to reports, the club would lose £18.4 million if they didn’t advance to the tournament’s quarterfinal round.

Barcelona spent almost £132 million on rebuilding Xavi’s team in the summer, but they must pay for that expenditure this season in order to meet their budgeted goal of having the team finish at least eighth in the European competition.

However, advancing from the group stage now appears unlikely for Xavi’s team, who must also defeat Bayern Munich, a team they have had difficulty defeating in recent seasons.

Barcelona will be relegated to the Europa League if they finish third in their group.

The champions of the Europa League are expected to receive about £13 million, so even if they were to win that competition, it wouldn’t be enough to make up for their early Champions League exit.

Barcelona would earn around £8.4m if they reach the last 16 and a further £9.3m if they get to the quarter-finals.

From there they would get a further £11m for the semi finals, and £13.6m or £17.5m depending on if they won the final – if they were to get that far.

Barcelona fans had high hopes of a positive result against Inter Milan on Wednesday night, with the Serie A giants losing all five of their previous visits to the Nou Camp.

However, what ensued was a nerve-wrenching night where Barcelona looked to be on the cusp of elimination more than once.