Barcelona members have approved plans to sell the team’s television rights and part of future revenue from trading and licences, in hopes of immediately pouring 600 million euros ($631 million) into the debt-ridden Spanish club.
Club president Joan Laporta said at one point up to 1.3 billion euros (about $1.37 billion) was at one point in order to “generate profit and have positive equity” after two seasons of being unable to sign majors due to crippling debt. measures were necessary.
Selected club members, called delegates, voted online late Thursday to overwhelmingly support the two financial measures presented by Laporta.
The first company is Barcelona’s 49% of the sales it operates in to negotiate its licensing rights and merchandising. The club expects to receive 200–300 million euros ($210–315 million) in return. Laporta said he would only listen to proposals that include a buyback option so that the club can take back full control of those properties at a later date.
The second measure is the sale of up to 25% of the proceeds from TV rights to Spanish league games for 25 years, for which the club said it expects to be able to earn around $450 million ($473 million).
Laporta likened his ailing club to a Formula One race car that needed a complete replacement. He said these two financial operations would mean “that F1 cars can leave the pits and return to the front lines of the grid to compete and win again.”
Laporta and other board members did not reveal any details about the offers or potential buyers when asked by representatives.
The financial move by Barcelona comes months after Real Madrid refused to participate in an investment plan by CVC Capital Partners, a fund secured by the Spanish league to help clubs after the pandemic.
The hefty salary and transfer fees paid by Laporta’s predecessor, Josep Bartomeu, are blamed for ruining Barcelona’s finances. The loss of revenue due to the pandemic made the situation more dramatic, to the extent that the club was unable to see all-time scorer Lionel Messi resign last summer, even when he was set to reduce his salary.
Barcelona finished last season without a title.
The league has reduced Barcelona’s salary range to seven times that of Real Madrid due to the team’s ruin. It has not signed any significant contracts this off-season and is working to get another pay cut for its players.
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