FC Barcelona have been making the
headlines for all the wrong reasons lately and the club have found themselves
in trouble yet again. It is no secret that the club led by President Joan
Laporta is in turmoil financially (and in recent months, on the pitch as well).
They find themselves in the thick of the action yet again with an Italian investigation
underway.

The Gazzetta dello Sport, an Italian daily
newspaper has claimed that the Prosecutor’s office of the Italian Football
Federation is underway. They are looking into the swap deal between FC
Barcelona and Italian giants Juventus for Brazilian midfielder Arthur Melo and Bosnian
midfielder Miralem Pjanic.

It is fair to say that following the
departure of Lionel Messi, the Spanish club has not received any good news.

The transfer deal which was finalised in the
2020 transfer window saw a young Arthur Melo depart FC Barcelona and a senior
player Miralem Pjanic depart Juventus. The deal was worth €72 million, plus €10 million in variables.

Pjanic is
believed to have cost the team from Spain  €60 million, plus a maximum of €5
million in variables.

The deal never
really made sense for Barcelona from an economic perspective. However, it is
not the only transfer deal made in Josep Maria Bartomeau’s era which is frowned
upon.

Neither of the players
were worth the amount bestowed upon them, a fact which was made clear with both
players spending most of their time on the bench. Pjanic made just 19 league
appearances and the 31-year-old was sent to Turkish club Besiktas in the most
recent summer transfer window.

It is believed
that the deal might have been a way for the clubs to balance their books.

The Italian
authorities are looking into 62 transfers which was suspected of including
illegal gains.

There’s not
much that Barcelona can do other than waiting for the investigation to be
concluded.