BarcelonaBarça begins to see the light at the end of the tunnel. At least economically. After the 2020-21 season was the worst in the club’s history, with losses of 481 million, Joan Laporta’s management says it will be able to close 2021-22 with green numbers. No more and no less than 5 million euros in profit. The club has announced the main lines of the budget that will be presented in two weeks’ time at the assembly of delegates. These accounts highlight, above all, the recovery of income, mainly the result of the reopening of the Camp Nou. But that cannot be understood without considering the pay cut and debt refinancing with Goldman Sachs.
According to projections, Barça will end up with a negative operating result of -19 million euros (765 in revenue minus 784 in expenses), but the board expects to compensate for this by obtaining a positive net financial result of 23 million. This is explained by the operation approved by the partners at the meeting of delegates in June: the loan with Goldman Sachs worth 595 million euros to be repaid over ten years, and which can be extended by 70 additional millions. This operation, which is actually a refinancing, has allowed Barça to lower the lower interest rate, according to club sources. Therefore, at the scale of the income statement, and as long as the forecasts are met, the after-tax result would be the positive 5 million euros that Laporta has calculated.
More income, less expenses
Beyond financial engineering, “the complex path to budget balance,” as the club itself has dubbed it, involves a recovery in revenue and also a further cut in spending. But the most important thing is that Barça generates new inflows of money. And this is mainly due to the reopening of the Camp Nou. Although the stadium is not yet at 100% capacity, and the capacity may change depending on the evolution of the pandemic, especially in the winter months, the club expects that the operating income will be of 765 million. 21% more than the previous season (631). To the income from the stadium are added those from the commercial area, motivated by the reopening of the shops.
However, not everything is flowers and violets in the economy. Opening the stadium – and the rest of the facilities – involves not only income, but also expenses, especially in terms of match operations. There are also other management expenses that are on the rise. Nevertheless, Joan Laporta’s management assures that it will be able to drastically reduce last season’s expenses. Last year they were 1,136 million and on June 30, 2022 they believe they will have dropped to 784.
Conditional results
However, to understand the difference between the two figures it must be borne in mind, first, that last season’s data it’s going to inflate with the amortizations of some players. That is, the cost of the signing that had been left to be amortized had been considered losses. The other big point to understand the reduction in spending also refers to some players, and in particular to the reduction of the sports payroll. The club figures it at 31% lower than last year. Some of these cuts have already been achieved, due to the departure of players with high chips (Griezmann and Pjanic, in addition to Messi), and others will be obtained throughout the season by modifying some salaries. has done with Piqué, Busquets and Jordi Alba, for example, and is negotiating with Sergi Roberto).
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