Barcelona: Madrid trying to sign Neymar hurt our stability

One of the Catalans' vice-presidents says signing the Brazilian starlet for €87.2 million a year earlier than planned affected the club's bank balance negatively

Barcelona were financially rocked because Real Madrid forced them to sign Neymar a year earlier than planned, according to vice-president Carles Vilarrubi.


The Spanish giants locked horns in a lengthy transfer saga which lead to the Catalans confirming the signing of the Brazilian starlet from Santos a year before he made the move for €57 million officially - although later revelations showed that the actual payments rose to an estimated €87m.
Vilarrubi admits that Barca's urgency in beating their arch-rivals to securing Neymar left them in a bad position economically, but suggested their hand was forced by the Blancos.
"The club signed a pre-agreement for Neymar to join the following season [2014-15]," the Barca chief told reporters. "Pressure from another club led us to sign him a year earlier. This fact has affected the club's financial stability."
He added that such “surrounding pressure” can sometimes force a club to make a move which is motivated by “not necessarily sporting” circumstances.