The board of directors of FC Barcelona, ​​chaired by Joan Laporta, obtained the green light for the club's budget for 2024/25 this Saturday at the ordinary general assembly, held electronically. In total, 409 of the delegate members authorized to vote approved the figures presented by the board, while only 75 voted against and another 28 opted for a blank vote.

The new Barça budget contemplates the team's stay at the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium during the first half of the season, anticipating a return to the Spotify Camp Nou in the second round (probably in February), with a reduced capacity of around 60,000 spectators. In addition, the club maintains a projection of sports income similar to the previous year, although the Champions League can generate greater profits as there are more games.

Barça calculates a historic income from sponsorships in 2025

According to the budget designed by Ferran Olivé, Barça expects to exceed €250 million in income from sponsorships, while the online sales section foresees a turnover in the order of €125 million. The club's goal is to close the 2024/25 financial year with an ordinary balance of €5M in favor, which will guarantee a positive EBITDA balance that will allow the next season to start with green numbers.

Regarding the wage bill, it remains at 510 'kilos', while, for the moment, the team registers income in the order of €22M after the results obtained in the first two months of the season. "We cannot spend more than we earn and this is going to be our ability. Deco is going to have the job and the challenge of maintaining this squad, but we have to continue with this situation that has been difficult for us to reach," Olivé explained about the song 'Fair Play'.

Barça's final figures in the 2023/24 financial year

Another key point at Saturday's meeting concerned the final figures for the 2023/24 financial year. The club had an ordinary profit of €12 million thanks to the reduction in the wage bill (from €670M to €510M) and sponsorship and BLM income of around €320M net.

However, playing at Montjuïc translates into a reduction in ordinary income of more than €100M per year for the club. These losses have led the board to readjust spending in its different sections (football, basketball, handball, futsal, roller hockey), which represents an enormous challenge to avoid sacrificing competitiveness. Proof of this is the perfect season for Barça Femení and the European Cup won by the handball club.

In turn, extraordinary expenses reached €141 million (without taxes) due to various accounts receivable from the company Bridgeburg Invest, S.L. and Barça Vision. Hence, the previous year closed with a negative net balance of -91 'kilos', figures that were supported by 452 delegate members. Another 156 voted against and there were 56 blank votes.

In total, the attendance of delegate members was 932, the highest in an ordinary assembly since 2018, when 1007 members participated in that edition. Previously, in 2016, 958 delegates had met to evaluate the management of the board.

In this regard, Joan Laporta thanked the members for their trust, calling for unity to promote a project that has returned institutional and financial stability to Barça. "We must fight against those who do not want us to do well. We fight against those who appeal to us with the Negreira case, where we are doing better and better, they bring up this issue. To defend ourselves we must be brave and we must show ourselves strong," said the president.

The progress in the works of the Spotify Camp Nou

For her part, vice president Elena Fort was in charge of presenting the details of the progress in the Spotify Camp Nou works. Beyond the setbacks that the project suffered during the summer due to neighborhood complaints, full-time working hours have been resumed and, although it is a fact that the reopening will not take place this year, there is full confidence in the construction company Amarak to complete the work.

"The progress is increasingly visible and they have already begun to place the first and second tier seats, at a rate of approximately 800 per day, beginning to create a characteristic Barça blur," explained Fort, who also expressed his pride and satisfaction that represents being able to carry out a project that lays the foundations for the future of the club.