700 million to keep Barça afloat

BarcelonaIt is no longer news that Barça begins its economic year without giving any details about the previous closure. Years ago, the club used to present an advance of the numbers (as of June 30) to its members in a press conference before August. Subsequently, this economic data (income, expenses, profits, short-term and long-term debts, etc.) was audited and submitted to a vote at the autumn general assembly. However, since Joan Laporta returned to the Camp Nou box in 2021, this exercise in transparency merges directly with the annual meeting – which since covid-19 has been held remotely – with the delegates, which this year is expected to take place in September or October in a single day with many topics to debate and also a certain urgency to resolve them.

Only the directors and some executives of Barça have an estimated picture of accounts that the auditor, Crowe, is working to validate. The general director, Manel del Río, whose future at the entity is uncertain, as acknowledged to this newspaper from Arístides Maillol street, presented the main headlines at a meeting held last week. The most positive part of the reading is the operating income, which will be around 1.1 billion euros and will be higher than operating expenses, quantified at just over 1 billion. In contrast, financial expenses will exceed the planned 51 million due to delays in the Camp Nou works: Barça has had to pay interest on the financing of the work that, in principle, was to be covered by the income from a stadium that is still operating at half capacity today. But if the net result of the year is negative, as is presumed, it will not be so much due to this variation as to the imputation of some extraordinary loss linked to the past leverage.

Since the operation of the new Camp Nou is the main hope for stabilizing the Barça economy, the priority is that the renovation suffers no further delays. In fact, as ARA already explained and the new economic vice-president, Ferran Olivé, confirmed, Barça has also advanced money to prevent the work from being paralyzed due to lack of resources. And with the 1,450 million euros from the securitization fund signed in 2023 with Goldman Sachs to build the new stadium practically exhausted, Barça is in a certain hurry to obtain about 500 more. as ARA already explained and the new economic vice-president, Ferran Olivé, confirmed, Barça has also advanced money to prevent the work from being paralyzed due to lack of resources. And with the 1,450 million euros from the securitization fund signed in 2023 with Goldman Sachs to build the new stadium practically exhausted, Barça is in a certain hurry to obtain about 500 more.

Cost overruns already exceed 400 million due to the increase in material costs, problems finding qualified workers in some areas, and limitations in advancing night work. There is not enough money to finish the third tier, which will not be able to be partially opened until well into 2027, and to install the roof, which will cause a new exile to Montjuïc. Limak, once defined by Laporta as the fastest and cheapest construction company of all those that bid, will build a Camp Nou for 2,000 million in more time than promised.

Treasury guaranteed for the coming months

The members will have to give the green light to this credit expansion in the dense assembly that will be convened in the coming weeks. But while the works advance under the August sun and humidity, and given that the club's ordinary activity cannot cover all the daily needs, Barça has been forced to issue more debt. It has done so for a value of 105 million, in the form of bonds, without needing to go through the assembly and with an interest rate of 5.14% per year.

With this money, the lack of income associated with having the Camp Nou half-finished is mitigated, and the transfer market is approached with more room to take advantage of the normality granted by the 1:1 rule of fair play financer of the League. Looking ahead to November, as reflected in the latest credit rating of the club, there is another bond issuance planned for the same amount (105 million) that will help to face ordinary activity. In total, before Christmas, Laporta can raise more than 700 million in debt to keep Barça afloat.