The green (and red) lights of Barça's "economic recovery"

BarcelonaFC Barcelona has begun its campaign to secure the approval of its member representatives for the accounts at the virtual meeting on October 19th. This Tuesday, it announced a budget for the 25-26 season with €1.075 billion in ordinary income, of which only €50 million will be derived from the gradual return to the Camp Nou, something that still lacks a clear and defined timeline due to ongoing delays in construction and in obtaining permits from Barcelona City Council. The flip side of such an optimistic forecast is expenses, which will also exceed €1 billion, leaving a modest profit of €5 million at the end of this year.

As for the close of the 24-25 season, Barça has recorded €994 million in operating income thanks to substantial improvements, including record turnover, in sponsorships and merchandising. However, the final result is 17 million losses due to the increase in the sports and non-sports wage bill, the UEFA fine for non-compliance with the fair play The financial crisis and the downward revaluation of Barça Studios' accounting records, among other things. Below is a list of the green and red flags for the club's accounts based on the documentation made available to members before the meeting and the conclusions of the auditorium company, Crowe.

Weathering exile with record revenues

The most positive aspect of the figures Barça has presented is, without a doubt, the increase, even above expectations, in the most traditional areas of the football business. Regarding the items related to stadium operations, and partly thanks to the surplus of thousands of season ticket holders that allows for more ticket sales in the Montjuïc exile, the club ends the 2024-25 financial year with 175 million euros in revenue, 38% more than the previous season. There is also a very substantial improvement in sponsorships. Especially thanks to the new agreement with Nike, Barça has 259 million euros in sponsorship alone (22% more than the previous year). Furthermore, the club continues to celebrate the good results in terms of merchandising: BLM, the subsidiary that manages this business, has generated 158 million euros, 51 million euros more than in the 2024-25 season. Included in the 994 million operating income are also 70 of the famous seats VIPs from the future Camp Nou and 44 from transfers of players like Mika Faye and Nico González.

Looking ahead to the 2025-26 financial year, the trend is forecasting another 50 million euros from the return to Camp Nou starting in the second quarter of the season (November-January) and also an increase in sponsorship and merchandising. In total, with commercial income as the main objective, Barça hopes to increase operating income to 1.075 billion euros.

Symptoms that condemned Bartomeu

The bad news comes with the expenses. Operating expenses rose at the close of the 24-25 season to 964 million euros, due, according to Barça, to the bonuses paid to the men's football squad for the titles won last season (+6%) and an increase in both non-sporting wages (+10%) and management expenses (+32%), for example. This fact is aggravated by the 15 million euro fine from UEFA for breaching the fair play financial and, above all, with a new deterioration of the Barça Studios black hole, forcing the club to record extraordinary losses worth 64 million. All of this causes the losses for the year to reach 17 million.

In terms of expenses, the club's forecast is not very encouraging. In fact, management expenses will continue to skyrocket (+19%) and sports salaries will also increase to 565 million, 31 more than last year, which will not greatly impact either the Barça women's team or the professional sections. The "economic recovery" proclaimed by Joan Laporta's board of directors is something considering the income, since it exceeds levels prior to the coronavirus pandemic, when Lionel Messi was in his prime and the Camp Nou could accommodate almost 100,000 people on major football nights. However, considering the pace of spending and the upward trend in sports salaries, the situation could be close to the one that ended with the club's financial collapse when Covid hit.

Reformulation and accumulation of losses during the mandate

Taking into account the €17 million audited as a loss at the close of the 24-25 season, the mandate Laporta must renew in the coming months already has a €230 million deficit despite having sold some €900 million in assets to ensure short-term liquidity. This figure is €230 million, not €140 million, because the company that audits the accounts, Crowe, has demanded in its report that the club reformulate the close of the 23-24 season and record another €90 million in losses due to a correction in the calculation of the tax impact of several transactions (-€50.4 million), the elimination of a 5:5 ratio to assets, and minor modifications. Three of the five years of the current presidential term have ended in losses.