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Barcelona's economic vice president, Eduard Romeu, has said that the club's financial problems can be traced back to the arrival of Neymar in 2013.

Romeu said that Neymar's salary was so high that it set a precedent for future signings and that the club's spending spiraled out of control as a result.

"Neymar's arrival was the start of the problem," Romeu said. "Everything afterward was inflated due to making an exorbitant payment for a player who had just arrived."

Barcelona's financial problems were exacerbated by the club's decision to sell Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017. The French club paid his release clause of 222 million euros, which was a world record at the time.

"The madness starts when he leaves, we lost the plot," Romeu said.

Barcelona also made two other expensive signings in the wake of Neymar's departure: Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembélé. However, neither player has lived up to expectations, nor their combined transfer fees of over 300 million euros have added to the club's financial woes.

Romeu said that he hopes Barcelona will return to being "in the black" starting next season. However, the club still has a long way to go to dig itself out of its financial hole.