Leeds United’s financial situation in the summer stemmed from the Victor Orta and Andrea Radrizzani reign at Elland Road.
After failing to win promotion back to the Premier League, Leeds were forced into selling a number of key assets in order to remain compliant with P&S.
Archie Gray, Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter all left for big money, with no club in world football generating more of a profit than Leeds during the window.
P&S wasn’t the only issue Leeds had to deal with in the summer, but cash flow too. Heading into the summer, Leeds still owed £190 million in unpaid transfer instalments to other clubs.
Just over a third of that needed paying in June, with football finance expert Kieran Maguire pinning the blame on Radrizzani, Orta and co for using the ‘Leeds United credit card’ on signings in the past.
How much Barcelona still owe Leeds for Raphinha
Another reason Leeds were forced into selling so many key players is due to how little they have made from sales in years gone by.
In 2023, the vast majority of Leeds’ sellable assets left on loan after relegation, with Tyler Adams the only real major sale.
The summer prior, Leeds did actually sell both Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha for big money, but according to a new report from Spanish outlet Sport, the Whites have barely seen any of the fee for the latter.
It is said Barcelona still owe Leeds a total of £35.7 million for the transfer of the Brazilian, which is still way over half of the fee that was agreed.
A £49 million initial fee, with a further £6 million in add-ons was the agreement struck between the two clubs, but clearly Leeds are waiting to see the majority of that.
As per the report, just under £470,000 of that is owed in the short term, with £35.2 million in the long-term, meaning Leeds still may be waiting a while to reap the rewards of selling Raphinha. Great work by Orta again.
- READ MORE: ‘Electric’ Leeds player shares training footage from Dubai as work continues away from Elland Road
Raphinha shining in third season at Barcelona
Raphinha seemed to split opinion at Barcelona in his first two seasons after joining from Leeds, but he is in the best form of his career right now.
Under new manager Hansi Flick, Raphinha has been given increased responsibility, one of which includes being one of the team captains.
Clearly that is something he is thriving under, as he has scored six goals and provided six assists across 11 matches in all competitions.
He is already just two goals away from matching his best La Liga return for goals at Barcelona, which came in his first season.
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