Two consequences Barcelona will face if they fail to finish second in La Liga

At a time when every penny is worth its weight in gold in Catalonia, one cannot help but notice the sheer riches the club missed out on through poor sporting performances.

For starters, the Catalans forfeited a sum of between €50 to €100 million by failing to qualify for the Club World Cup which will be held in 2025.

Further, they lost out on €5.6 million directly by losing in the UCL group stages against Shakhtar Donetsk and Royal Antwerp, games they were clear favourites in.

No more room to err

Now, as revealed by SPORT, Barcelona have a sum of €7 to €8 million on the line for the final part of the ongoing league season.

Currently third in La Liga, Xavi’s side are in a neck-to-neck battle against Girona for a place in the top two. If they fail to finish as runners-up at least, they will miss out on a place in next season’s Spanish Super Cup which has the aforementioned sum on the line.

Barcelona cannot afford to finish behind Girona (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Girona took over from Barcelona as the league’s second-placed side with a 4-2 win over the Blaugranas last weekend. They did, however, drop points against Alaves and Xavi’s side can take over once more if they win over Real Sociedad tonight.

The second consequence

Another direct consequence of Barcelona’s failure to qualify for the Spanish Super Cup will be seen in their Copa del Rey campaign for next season.

Finishing outside the top two will imply that the Catalans have to fight two extra rounds in the cup competition before they have a place in the Round of 16.

Considering that these games will be played against inferior oppositions away from home, they will be complicated affairs for the men in garnet and blue, as is the case in Copa del Rey year after year.