Barcelona Exec Details Club’s Financial Crisis

FC Barcelona will need $535 million to avoid financial devastation, according to the vice president of the club’s economic department.

“It is what we need to save Barca,” Eduard Romeu told the Spanish daily newspaper Sport. 

The necessity for fresh capital follows heavy financial losses for Barcelona over the last year.

• In March 2021, Barcelona was technically bankrupt.
• Three months later, the club borrowed $605 million from Goldman Sachs.
• In October 2021, Barcelona reported $1.56 billion in debt.

Barcelona has already taken several steps to prevent financial collapse. 

The La Liga club — the second-most valuable soccer team in the world at $5 billion — is seeking approval for a cash injection of up to $750 million. Barcelona could receive the money by selling future media rights and a stake in its Barca Licensing & Merchandising subsidiary.

The club is reportedly in talks to sell a stake of its television rights to Bank of America in a deal valued at $645 million, per Bloomberg. Barcelona’s plan to sell the minority stake in its media rights — roughly 25% — will depend on a vote by club members on June 16. 

The club has already received offers for up to a 49.9% stake in its BLM business, but has deemed them to be too low. A sale of the stake could provide Barcelona with $214 million. 

More Help 

In March, Barcelona agreed to a long-term deal with audio streaming platform Spotify reportedly worth $306 million. Spotify will become the main sponsor of the club.