The poisoned 'levers' that will mark Barça's summer

BarcelonaTalking about Barça's finances is a bit of a turnoff for some of the Barça fans. It's much more fun to chat over a plate of bravas about Lamine Yamal's latest incredible move or on whether Joan Garcia will ultimately sign for Barça or notBut the problem is that the club's financial and sporting aspects are intrinsically linked. The success of the former provides greater chances of success for the latter in the short and medium term, and, above all, in the long term. Thus, the close of the 2024-2025 financial year is a key moment to update the club's health and future potential.

The only data, for now, was provided by president Joan Laporta: Barça will earn around €950 million (€893 million was budgeted). But it remains to be seen what the expenses will be and whether there will be a profit or loss. And, above all, this €950 million revenue figure needs to be clarified. The Catalan club still has time to sell players before June 30 and must get the new auditor, Crowe, to give them good news regarding three sensitive areas.

The first is for Crowe to accept the 100 million from the lever of the boxes VIP of the new Camp Nou (they must be built before June 30th for this to happen); second, that he not request a devaluation of the book value of 208 million for 51% of Barça Studios, as occurred last year with the club's previous auditor, Grant Thornton, who added an exception to the club's accounts due to this matter. And third, that he not consider the devaluation of the 157.5 million that Barça contributed in 2022 to Locksley Invest (the company that manages the club's television rights in La Liga) during the sale of 25% of those rights.

ARA has asked official sources at the club about their forecast in this regard, and the response was that they will discuss the end of the financial year when "it is completed and with the auditors." On the other hand, other sources from Aristides Maillol's offices explain to this newspaper that it is still too early to draw conclusions because, although the financial year ends on June 30, there is still time until September, when the transfer market closes, to present the figures. "The final figures are usually presented in September." [before Laporta's second term it was done in July] ahead of the October assembly," a person close to the board told ARA. This was the case last year, when Laporta's board announced the official figures for the 2023-2024 financial year on September 30.

What's happening with Barça Studios?

Although Laporta himself and other Barça officials have announced publicly and privately in recent months that Barça was very close to signing contracts with several Barça Studios investors to cover the outstanding payments from previous investors, the reality is that no new ones have arrived. The only big news there has been The most recent acquisition is Barça Produccions (known as Barça Studios) of Bridgeburg Invest (Barça Vision). Thus, Barça's digital content (Barça Vision: NFT, metavers, web3, fan tokens) have come to share an umbrella with audiovisual content (Barça Media: Barça One, series, e-sports).

"Barça Studios now has a total value of between 30 and 60 million thanks to this absorption of audiovisual content. The rest should depreciate," an economist close to Barça tells this newspaper. But a devaluation, apart from causing serious financial complications, would make it impossible for Deco, the Barça sporting director, to operate with the 1:1 rule (you can spend every euro you earn on signings) during the summer transfer market. The other option is for Laporta's board to decide to stick with the 208 million valuation of 51% of Barça Studios and try to convince the auditor that this figure accurately reflects reality.

What's happening with Locksley Invest?

Barça Studios has been the main focus of Laporta's moves during his second term, but the first of these moves, the sale of 25% of La Liga's television rights to Sixth Street for 25 years, is also becoming a problem for the club. This transaction resulted in a €667.5 million accounting profit in 2022, but Barça only earned €510 million. The remaining €157.5 million is the capital the club invested in Locksley Invest. "Currently, this item has no value because you won't have any additional income until 2047. Therefore, it will have to be written down from the accounts at some point and could lead to a qualification from the auditor," explains the same economic specialist.

The TV rights lever, in particular, has brought bad news for Barça this week. The Times advanced on Tuesday that UEFA could severely sanction Barça for having breached its financial regulations for the second consecutive year. The sanction could consist of a hefty fine, a reduction in the number of players Barça can register for the Champions League, or even a loss of points in Europe's top competition. UEFA's final decision will be announced in the coming weeks.

The crux of the matter is that UEFA believes Barça has misreported its profits. Specifically, European football's governing body invalidates the leverage from the sale of television rights as "other operating income"—the concept the Blaugrana club granted itself. For UEFA, "profits from the sale of intangible assets" should be considered, which cannot be included in the calculations of the fair play financial as Barça did.