Barcelona will not give refund to season ticket holders amid economic crisis: Report

Defending LaLiga champions Barcelona have boldly decided against refunding their seasoned ticket holders. This reluctance from the club is largely due to the coronavirus Spain shutdown that had led to huge financial losses to the club, compelling it to ask its players to undertake salary pay cuts to bail out the club in times of distress. 

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LaLiga news: Barcelona hit financially amid coronavirus Spain crisis

Barcelona are already believed to have been in huge debt before the coronavirus Spain shutdown. Now, according to Catalan newspaper Ara, the club is reluctant on refunding the tickets of the fans who had already purchased it for the final five games of LaLiga. The competition is set to resume in June but will be played behind closed doors, implying that fans will not be able to visit the stadiums under any scenario. The fans will also miss out on the Champions League round of 16 tie against Napoli at Camp Nou. 

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LaLiga news: Barcelona to seek sponsors' help?

Most of the Barcelona fans pay around €1120 ($1210) for the seasoned tickets in the beginning of the season, which rounds off to €66 ($71) for every game. With Barcelona's financial crisis, the club will urge the fans not to create an issue out of it. Reports also suggest that Barcelona could seek help from its sponsors to help in dealing with the issue. The financial issue could impact Barcelona's pursuit of signing Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) as well as Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez this summer.

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Coronavirus Spain: Barcelona's transfer plans to be affected

Neymar left the Catalan giants in 2017 for a world record fee of €222 million ($240 million) to join Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). Since then, he has been constantly linked with a return to Barcelona. Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi has openly confessed of his dream of seeing the Brazilian winger back at Camp Nou. 

Lautaro Martinez has emerged as a great prospect in Serie A. Despite interest from several other top European clubs, Barcelona are considered as the front-runners to sign the 22-year-old Argentine international. The defending LaLiga champions are reportedly looking to offload their previous summer star signing Antoine Griezmann, who arrived from Atletico Madrid. 

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