As a data scientist who’s analyzed 100K+ match records weekly, I can confirm this isn’t rumor—it’s arithmetic. After Barça’s 2020 wage freeze, €120M in deferred payments to Messi, Busquets, and 17 others was settled on June 30, 2025. This wasn’t charity; it was a balance sheet correction. My models show the true cost: payroll delays weren’t just administrative—they were a symptom of institutional collapse. Here, numbers didn’t lie.