BarcelonaWith the competition closed and all the titles handed out, the only football incentive until the ball rolls again is to know what the teams will look like next season. We’ve been working in the club offices for months, with as much silence as possible, and now it’s time to put all the cards on the table. But for the entire wish list to come true, the safe must be full. And this is precisely the big problem of organizations like Barça, which have been financially suffocated since the pandemic arrived. Only the ability to activate the “levers”, as President Joan Laporta said, can allow Barça to strengthen this summer and develop a team strong enough to compete on all fronts that will be open from mid-August : the League, the Cup, the Super Cup and, of course, the Champions.
The Barça executive president had devised a big blow for this summer, selling a percentage of BLM or audiovisual rights that are already in the possession of the entity. But, as ARA explained, the contracts are extremely complex and the small print has ended up holding back operations. It does not mean that they have stopped, but that sales will be slower and therefore you will have to wait to get liquidity through this channel. So, the only “lever” available right now is to do what most clubs did last summer: sell 10% of their TV rights to the investment fund. CVC, which would allow to enter 270 million in one go without the need to expand the debt.
Laporta had so far opposed signing this agreement, but the economic reality is pushing the club to the limit, so everything seems doomed to make him change his mind and accept the money. Not just to be able to sign in the summer, but for something as basic as closing the numbers at the end of the season. The viability of the institution is at stake. In this sense, and after receiving several internal pressures to change his mind and sign the agreement, this Tuesday the decision can be taken definitively at the meeting of the board of directors. If there is finally a green light, the next step would be to convene an extraordinary assembly to ratify the decision. This assembly would be in telematic format, the same one that was already used in December to approve the financing of the Espai Barça.
However, the fact that Barça has decided to sign the agreement does not mean that it will automatically solve some of its problems. And it is that the League has reserved a right of veto and can even stop the operation. “The agreement with CVC makes it clear that no institution can negotiate directly with this fund, although it leaves open the possibility of another club joining as long as it is on the same terms and has the approval of the League.” , said Óscar Mayo, CEO of the employer, in an interview with As. Barça had unsuccessfully tried to change the percentages of the agreement and be able to allocate more than 15% of what they earn to signings and sports salaries. But the League, as Mayo warned, has been adamant.
If Barça change the terms of the agreement with CVC, the other clubs must approve it
In any case, the agreement between Barça and CVC that has been emerging in recent months is not exactly the same as that signed by the other clubs. For example, money would not count as debt but as income. This figure is doubly important, because it would have a positive impact on the accounts for this season and, in return, would allow part of the imbalance to be wiped out with the salary cap – in addition to the money that can be allocated directly, by agreement. This trick is the one that generates the most controversy and the one that can cause the discomfort of the other teams of the employer. “Everyone had to go through the rules with specific conditions. It is normal that if a club, no matter how much Barça is called, wants to change them, the others do not agree,” said a senior league executive. . This source admits that some entities, whose name does not mean, have already contacted the employer to ask for explanations about this agreement.
Tebas has promised support to Barça if he signs with CVC
The president of the League, Javier Tebas, is one of the most pressured for Barça to adhere to the pact. He did it last summer, when Leo Messi’s continuity at Barça was at stake. According to the Camp Nou, Tebas has come to tell Laporta that if Barça signed with CVC, even if he was retouching the small print, he would lead the campaign in favor of the yes. But the employers insist that the rest of the clubs have the last word: “And a simple majority would not be enough, it should be a qualified majority, at least 2/3 of the votes in favor.”
In the midst of this controversy, another name also appears, that of Florentino Pérez. The president of Real Madrid, promoter of the Superliga, was opposed from the outset to sign the agreement with CVC. Florentino, with his arguments, managed to drag Barça to the no, despite the continuity of Messi at stake. The other club that also opposed it was the Athletic Club. If the Barça board finally votes in favor of the agreement and the members’ assembly ratifies it, it is to be expected that the white president will oppose a campaign – and his powerful tentacles – to prevent the employers from validating the decision. The game is not over yet and it is more complicated than it seems. There is no ideal solution to Barça’s economic agony. And the one that has long been the most worked (CVC) is very much conditioned by the open conflict between Tebas and Florentino. Who will Laporta end up embracing so that the club he presides over can be viable?
