According to Mundo Deportivo, at Barcelona's 2026 General Assembly, the club's Vice President for Economics, Ferran Olivé, presented and explained the budget for the 2026/27 season. Barcelona projects revenue of €1.195 billion in the new season and does not anticipate any asset impairments during this period, which would otherwise result in non-recurring losses. The budget was ultimately approved with 583 votes in favor, 43 against, and 27 abstentions.

Ferran Olivé stated: "We have achieved positive results in our regular operations for three consecutive years. Let me go into the details. Regarding stadium revenue, we have income from ticket sales and season tickets, as well as revenue from our youth academy. This was a complex season because we played at three different stadiums. We are gradually returning to our own stadium, but despite this, we managed to meet our budget targets.

Regarding broadcasting rights revenue, when we set our budget, we typically assume the team will finish first or second in LaLiga or reach the Champions League quarterfinals.

The third revenue stream is commercial income. Our agreement with Nike is favorable because we can manage our e-commerce operations and sell products bearing our brand directly. In the past, we had restrictions in this area.

Good news is that merchandise revenue from Barça Licensing & Merchandising (BLM) has exceeded €200 million.

Another aspect is sponsorship income. We set records, though we fell short of our initial targets.

The fourth area is player transfers and loans. Barcelona is a club that buys players, but we must also know how to sell them. We invest heavily in our academy, but not all players can make it to the first team, so we must be able to generate accounting profit from them. For players who cannot stay with us, we sell them while retaining a certain percentage of future selling rights. When these players are sold again, we generate revenue."

On the club's expenses

Ferran Olivé stated: "The most significant expense is the salaries of our sports staff. Our wage bill remains within UEFA's lower regulatory limits. We have also adjusted working conditions and proactively converted some previously freelance individuals to our standard employment system, which increased corresponding salary costs. Regarding operational and administrative expenses, because we played at three different stadiums, we did not meet our budget targets. Then there are other expenses. Our regular operating result is a profit of €200,000, while our non-recurring items resulted in a loss of €14 million."

Ferran Olivé then discussed the asset impairment related to Bridgeburg: "In 2022, we sold broadcasting rights. At that time, due to the Super League issue, our relationship with LaLiga was quite strained, and it was not an easy one. We believed we had sufficient conditions to maintain the club's normal operations. Additionally, we needed to build a competitive team, so we had to restructure our squad.

For all these reasons, we had to activate a new economic lever: Bridgeburg. They operate in tokens, NFTs, and the metaverse, and these concepts were booming at the time. We believed this was a business with growth potential. Its valuation at that time reached €400 million, but subsequently the token and metaverse markets declined. Our collaboration with some of these partners also left us unsatisfied, and we could not continue managing the situation. The auditors told us we had to impair the value of this company. This year, there was an additional impairment of €23 million. We have been and continue to seek alternative revenue sources.

This €23 million is a book value adjustment, not a cash loss. We are selling Personal Seat Licenses (PSLs), which are long-term rights to VIP seats, and purchasers receive associated rights for 30 years. We implemented this program last year and are continuing it this year, generating €9.8 million."

On sports expenses

Ferran Olivé stated: "Regarding sports expenses, our wage-to-revenue ratio remains at 54%, within UEFA's lower regulatory limits. In previous years, we significantly exceeded this. We must have a competitive team, but we cannot exceed our financial capabilities.

Our net equity decreased from minus €153 million to minus €168 million, but as the stadium project progresses, we will gradually reverse this situation. Regarding debt, there are several different ways to calculate it. According to LaLiga standards, this includes bank debt, debt to other clubs, and receivables from clubs. We fell behind on this issue, and on the surface, our situation worsened. But this summer we signed Anthony Gordon. No one completes a contract before the end of the financial year, as that would worsen the financial figures, but we had to complete this deal before the end of the financial year. These factors combined had an impact. This transaction brought our debt to €607 million, but without these factors, we could have reduced debt to around €400 million. The auditors issued a qualified opinion on our financial statements."

Finally, Ferran Olivé concluded: "Despite playing at three different stadiums, we still set a revenue record of €1.06 billion. We have achieved positive operating results for three consecutive years while maintaining a BBB credit rating. Our squad's estimated value reached €1.267 billion, higher than its current book value. However, as long as we have not sold these players, we cannot record their market value on our books. Forbes values us at €7.5 billion, focusing on the club's value growth, which has increased 33%. We have successfully returned to LaLiga's 1:1 financial fair play rule, and we should be very proud of this achievement. UEFA has awarded our stadium the right to host the 2029 Champions League final—the best stadium in the world.""

Website AF đã ra mắt! Xem tin tức đầy đủ, bình luận, chi tiết trận đấu và thống kê trên máy tính. Truy cập: www.allfootballapp.com