The financial ruin that Espanyol is trying to avoid with relegation to the Second Division

Espanyol are depending on themselves to avoid relegation for the third time in five seasons . The blue and white club , who have only been relegated six times in their entire history and bounced back like a springboard on each of those occasions to return to the elite in the following campaign , will experience an agonizing match at the RCDE Stadium. The Catalans' five consecutive defeats , including the derby , have placed Manolo González's team in a position as agonizing as it is critical .

However, everything depends on Espanyol itself . If the Catalan team defeats relegated UD Las Palmas at Cornellà-El Prat, Espanyol will remain in the First Division for at least one more season. Leganés is counting on beating Real Valladolid at Butarque, and if they tie on points, the pepineros would remain in the First Division by winning on goal average.

It will be the first home game since the mass collision of blue and white fans by a driver who lost control of her car, injuring 17 people and sending one of them to the intensive care unit. At stake is not only the relegation of the seventh-placed team in LaLiga in front of their fans, but also the financial future of a club run by Chinese capital and whose president, Chen Yansheng, has not set foot in Barcelona since the summer of 2022 .

The delicate economic situation

Rumors about the possible sale of RCD Espanyol have been rife in recent months, but no offer has come close to the €180 million that Rastar Group is asking for to transfer the blue and white club, according to La Vanguardia . The club's delicate financial situation upon its return to the First Division meant that sporting director Fran Garagarza was left with no salary margin to sign and register players.

Following the Rastar Group's participatory loans and without the desired capital increase, Espanyol's salary cap reached almost eight million euros . The Blanquiazul sporting director's response was to fill the team with loan players and rely on the youth academy . Kumbulla, Carlos Romero, Alex Kral, Irvin Cardona, Alejo Véliz, Cheddira, and Ünuvar arrived in the summer, but the squad lacked attacking talent and forcefulness in both areas.

Only Joan García, LaLiga's breakout goalkeeper, sustained Espanyol's chances of survival with miraculous saves. The team ended the first half of the season in the relegation zone. For this reason, Roberto Fernández, Urko González de Zárate , and Pablo Ramón arrived in Barcelona. If the summer's prospects had been more gloom than light, the emergence of Roberto and Urko significantly improved Espanyol's performance.

The fate of Joan García and Puado is up in the air.

Manolo González managed to find the key and lead a second half of the season worthy of a European spot . Only the strange final stretch, with an unexpected slackness, led Espanyol to the abyss. Relegation for the blue and white team would threaten the sustainability of Espanyol, which managed to cut losses last season , and revenue from sponsorships, television rights, and player sales would plummet .

And not only that. Espanyol is facing a sporting overhaul this summer that will affect half the squad, including players whose loan spells are ending at the Catalan club and others whose contracts are about to expire. Those on loan include Kumbulla, Carlos Romero, Kral, Véliz, Cheddira, Roberto Fernández, and Urko González de Zárate, while Puado, Cabrera, Sergi Gómez, Tejero, Oliván, and Aguado will also end their spells in June.

The club is fighting to renew captain Javi Puado's contracts, who is coveted by many clubs, and Cabrera, who has stated he will stay if Espanyol doesn't get relegated . Finally, La Liga's breakout goalkeeper, Joan García, is expected to see his release clause reduced to €15 million instead of the current €25 million. A call-up for Luis de la Fuente on Monday would mean another €5 million for the Blue and Whites.