Barça calls a telematic assembly on June 16 to activate economic actions

If the last itinerant meeting of the board of directors was held at the Montserrat Abbey, this time the directors of FC Barcelona traveled the 160 kilometers that separate the Camp Nou from La Jonquera by bus to meet at the Gran Jonquera Outlet shopping center with the president Laporta, who arrived by car, and address the club's difficult economic situation.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
31 May 2022 Tuesday 08:06
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Barça calls a telematic assembly on June 16 to activate economic actions

If the last itinerant meeting of the board of directors was held at the Montserrat Abbey, this time the directors of FC Barcelona traveled the 160 kilometers that separate the Camp Nou from La Jonquera by bus to meet at the Gran Jonquera Outlet shopping center with the president Laporta, who arrived by car, and address the club's difficult economic situation. At the table of a private room located next to an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant and a cafeteria that bears the name of the Eiffel Tower, the board reviewed the state of the negotiations to activate various solutions popularly known as 'economic levers' that allow economy of the entity, comply with the financial fair play and be able to reinvest in the sports project.

Finally, it was agreed to convene an extraordinary telematic assembly of partners scheduled for June 16 at 6:30 p.m. in which the transfer of up to 25 percent of the audiovisual rights will be put to a vote (either accepting the agreement with CVC or other alternatives). and also sell up to 49 percent of Barça Licensing

As if it were a metaphor for Barça's economic situation, the board arrived at La Jonquera after 11:30 in the morning to a parking lot surrounded by cranes because the shopping center is being remodeled. The chosen place was not accidental. Antonio Escudero, a Barça manager, chairs the Escudero Group, which in 2018 invested some 40 million euros to expand the La Jonquera outlet by 50,000 square metres. An enormous Eiffel Tower decorated with umbrellas and colored butterflies welcomed the meeting that chose to take a group photo in front of the Escudero Supermarket. After visiting the mall, the president signed a dedication in the signature book before entering the meeting room without making a statement.

At 3:00 p.m. the meeting of the board ended, which simply crossed an interior corridor to eat at the free buffet that also bears the name of Escudero. The meeting was attended by all the directors and also by the director of football Mateu Alemany, who during the visit remained in the discreet background a few meters behind the board. He seemed calm and relaxed before entering the room to listen to the management's assessment of the economic operations that are underway.

There are discrepancies in the board. Several managers consider that Barça should accept the pact that LaLiga reached with CVC that would allow it to enter 270 million euros. 70% must be invested in infrastructure, 15% to refinance debt and compensate for losses due to the coronavirus crisis and another 15% to increase the salary limit of the workforce. Following these concepts, Barça would allocate 199 million euros in structure, that is, in the Espai Barça. 42.6 million to compensate for losses due to the coronavirus crisis and another 42.6 million would seek to increase the salary limit of the squad that would allow the registration of new signings Christiansen and Kessié and the signing of Robert Lewandowski. In exchange, the club must sell 10 percent of its television rights for the next 50 years.

LaLiga chaired by Javier Tebas presses for Barça to join their agreement. "Barça already know what they have to do if they want to sign Lewandowski. They know they have to enter more and sell assets. I don't know if they will sell De Jong or Pedri or 'Pepito Pérez'", Tebas pointed out at the sports breakfasts with Europa Press .

But Laporta is not in favor of accepting this deal, which he already resigned from last year and which precipitated the departure of Leo Messi. Barça rejected the pact because it considered that selling its audiovisual rights for the next 50 years was excessive and because the injection of 270 million could not be computed as debt. Since then they have been negotiating for months to change the structure, although LaLiga has already warned Barça that there are no tailor-made agreements and that they must accept the union under the same conditions as the rest of the 37 First and Second Division clubs that have joined. attached to the pact. Barça, like Real Madrid, also rejected joining CVC because there is a clause in the contract that prevents clubs from joining other competitions. Another problem for the Blaugrana club, which remains on the Super League ship as a founding member.

The other economic lever that the club values ​​is the sale of 49 percent of Barça Licensing