Barça has lived in recent weeks in a feverish state. It is the club that has shaken the transfer market. Two arrived for free (Kessié and Christensen) and three, Lewandowski, Raphinha and Koundé, did so after the club went through the box. More than 150 million fixed, 158 when also counting the incorporation of the young Pablo Torre, has promised to pay Barcelona for these new faces. But wasn't the club in a delicate financial situation? Is it a contradiction, nonsense or a risky bet? From the entity they are clear. It is about investing now to be able to refloat the ship sportingly and that all the gear of income and benefits really start up with a multiplier effect. If the ball goes in, Barça is convinced that the coffers will return to calmer waters and they will not have to resort to more credits and more investment funds.
But now the club's directors have understood that they had no choice but to sell assets from the future to try to recover the present. That's what the famous levers are all about. The club's economic vice president, Eduard Romeu, explained in an interview with this newspaper in June that the club needed 700 million to "face the future with guarantees." At an accounting level, the transfer to the investment fund Sixth Street first of 10% and after 15% of the television rights of the League for the next 25 years has reported 667 million to the club. With this amount in his pocket, Barça had cash to face the signings and to reduce debt, especially to try to solve the issue of the salary deferrals that he made with the players. In addition, with the transfer of 10% of the television rights on June 30, it was guaranteed to end the year with some 100 million profits, according to sources from the Barça entity, instead of doing it for the third consecutive year in the red. It should be remembered that Barça ended the 2020-2021 campaign with losses approved in the assembly of 481 million and the 2019-2020, with 97 million.
But logically this transfer of television rights has its contraindication. It is calculated, based on current contracts, that the club will stop receiving 41 million euros per season. From Barcelona it is trusted to be able to obtain this amount through other games.
The entity is more concerned about the issue of the wage bill and the departures of soccer players, capital issues to be able to balance the ship economically speaking and to be able to register the signings. The salary mass before the incorporations was 560 million and Barcelona aspires to close the summer market with salaries for the staff of 400 million. That is why vehement pressure is being produced, for example, on Frenkie de Jong. The Dutch midfielder has signed a gross salary of 23 million for this season, a very high amount and that the club wants to reduce. Either that or he plays for another team this season.
If Barça does not manage to lighten its wage bill, the club would be forced, if necessary, to activate the third lever this summer, that of Barça Studios (its division of audiovisual products) or that of BLM (its marketing company for marketing). Put between a rock and a hard place, the board of directors would rather divest 49% of Barça Studios than 49% of BLM, but the former is deficient and the latter does generate profits, so it would be easier to find a partner for BLM than for Barça Studios .
In any case, in the ideal roadmap of the entity this third lever should be left in the reserve to resort to it in the 2023-2024 campaign, season in which Barcelona is expected to go into exile to Montjuïc for the works of the Camp Nou. Meanwhile, in the coming season, the objective would be to recover pre-pandemic income both on match days and in terms of shirt sales. If the money generated within BLM increases, Barça could get a bigger slice if a campaign later the club has to part with part of this line of business. A quite plausible scenario considering that by playing at Montjuïc, Barcelona will lose income, as it is a smaller capacity stadium and also due to the fact that they have to offer rotating shifts to their season ticket holders so that they can attend the matches.
That is why the 2022-2023 season is key for the club's projects, always with the Espai Barça megaproject on the horizon. The compromisers gave the club permission to find financing for the works worth 1,500 million. Of course, later he will have to return the loan to the fund that advances the money for the works. Possibly it is Goldman Sachs, a firm that already gave a credit of 525 million to Barcelona in June 2021.
The entity's debt, as recognized from within, continues to be around 1,300 million. But, like a fish that bites its tail, the club needs the results on the field to arrive so that the red numbers disappear. This is Barça's bet.
