In an announcement made after the board meeting, Barcelona said it had been forced to write off 141 million euros after “non-payment by certain investment partners” who participate in the Barça Vision digital project.
In August 2023, the Catalans sold a 29.5% stake in Bridgeburg Invest, the holding company of Barça Vision (formerly Barça Studios) to the German Libero Football Finance and the Dutch investment company Nipa Capital, in a deal that raised 120 million euros.
At the time, Barcelona described the agreements as levers open to club directors to pay off debts, estimated at 1.35 billion euros in 2021, in order to comply with LaLiga’s strict financial rules.
The €141m write-off means that, instead of making a net profit, the club has made a €91m loss for 2023-24, whereas last year it announced a €304m profit for the 2022 financial year. -23.
The 2023-24 loss was recorded despite several positive developments in sponsorship, merchandise, wage costs and transfer revenue.
The club received €210 million in sponsorship revenue (up from €200 million in 2022-23), while BLM’s merchandise division contributed €110 million, the highest amount since the pandemic.
Last year, the club renewed one of its most lucrative and controversial sponsorship deals by signing a five-year extension with bookmaker 1XBet.
It also reached a three-year deal in Latin America with technology and home delivery company Rappi, which will run until June 2026, while maintaining its agreement with Japanese game developer Konami.
The wage bill was reduced from 670 million euros to 500 million euros, while player sales generated 80 million euros with the departures of Ousmane Dembele, Frank Kessy and Marc Guieu.
The club’s temporary move to Barcelona’s Olympic Stadium reduced ticket and stadium revenue by 100 million euros.
However, the Blaugrana plan to return to the refurbished Camp Nou midway through the 2024-25 season and have budgeted a total profit of €5 million for 2024-25.
In August, Barcelona announced that it had secured a €40 million investment from hotel and catering services provider Aramark, a deal that helped the club balance its books ahead of the 2024-25 LaLiga season.
naftemporiki.gr
