The financial gearing of Espai Barça: at least 1.163 billion have already flown away

BarcelonaThe Camp Nou remodeling project continues its financial course under the scrutiny of the markets. According to the latest financial update submitted to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), which corresponds to the close of the first half of 2026, the financial vehicle Espai Barça, FT (securitization fund for the money injected by various investors collected by Goldman Sachs), has dedicated €1,162.89 million to the project, which is currently halfway finished. The stadium has reopened the first two renovated tiers, but it still needs to reopen the third tier, which is being built from scratch, and to raise the roof of the entire venue, a fact that will cause a new exile to Montjuïc at the beginning of the next academic year. Regarding the new Palau Blaugrana, the other jewel in the crown of the so-called Espai Barça, there is no further news since the renders that the club distributed before the March elections.

These 1,163 million represent an increase of 153.6 compared to the last valid update, that of December 31, which shows a constant rate of disbursement as the works progress. According to the same update, which can be freely downloaded from the internet, the liquid treasury available in the fund has dropped from €240.03 million (from December 2025) to 141.20. It is a reduction of almost €100 million, which if it does not correspond to the volume of investment (153.6) is mostly because the fund has saved the cash from being practically at zero with temporary divestments worth €74.4 million. This is how the fund has been able to pay €153.6 million (as finished work was being certified) while consuming only 98.82 of its immediate cash.

On June 30, the Espai Barça treasury held €141.20 million after dedicating €1,163 million to works that are still half-finished. But the total expenditure on the works goes further, since the investors have not happily released the committed capital –only via certifications of completed work– and the club, consequently, is the one that has had to put money from its ordinary budget so that the renovation would not stop, as acknowledged by the strongman of Laporta's board, Ferran Olivé, in an interview with ARA. Between one thing and another, the cost overrun is around €400 million and urgently requires more debt to finish the stadium, which is the main asset with which Barça hopes to generate income for the present and the future. In fact, at the next assembly, which will be held telematically on September 19, it is planned to ask the members for permission to raise 500 million more, 210 of which in the form of bonds. In this session with delegates, the entity's numbers and two commercial agreements with Ohana Development and Babylon Park will also have to be approved.

The new Camp Nou has contributed 56 million to pay interest

At this point it is already evident that to build the stadium the €1,474 million raised since 2023 through the securitization fund has not been enough. In the first issue, at the end of May 2023, 987 million were injected. And subsequently, a nominal value of 424 million more and a subordinated loan worth an additional 84 million were added. In total, almost 1,500 million, of which 1,163 have already flown away just in certified work payments, which represents 78.9% of the total financing. In the cash box, 141.20 million (9.6%) remain; 42.49 (2.9%) are held in other assets and accounts receivable, and 127.52 (8.6%) have been spent on interest, commissions, exchange differences, and opening costs. This is how the debt and asset machinery of the Espai Barça squares exactly in mid-2026.

In the same CNMV document, the compliance with the debt is highlighted. It reveals that, at the end of June 2026, the default rate or the rate of doubtful or bad assets is 0%. This means that Barça is strictly complying with the established schedule. Liquidity is transformed into construction work and the income generated by the securitized assets –which the fund has registered as future credit rights linked to the future operation of the stadium– cover the cost of the issued debt. The fund has already collected 55.93 million from the club in terms of returns from these assets, a figure that exceeds the 45.52 million that had to be paid during the same period in interest. Since its reopening, therefore, the Camp Nou has contributed almost 56 million to pay the interest on the debt. Of the bulk of the capital, however, not a single euro has been returned yet.