The board of directors of Fútbol Club Barcelona has made available to members the audited accounts for the year ended last June, which show profits of 303 million euros. A figure that seems spectacular if we take into account the problems that the entity has when making signings or registering players in compliance with the fair play rules established by the Spanish league, and that both have been involved in the day-to-day life of the entity. last seasons.
A close look at the audit notes explains this apparent paradox. According to that document, specifically in a so-called “emphasis paragraph”, the auditor states: “It must be considered that the club has generated a result of 303 million euros in this year, which includes profits from non-recurring operations for an amount of “Approximately 800 million euros.”
That is to say, the entity is presenting spectacular results from last year although at the cost of reducing the club’s assets, especially through the sale of assets, which will result in a reduction in future income. That is, without these asset sales and extraordinary income from the sale of players, Barça would have had losses of around 500 million.
According to accounting regulations, auditors must include an “emphasis paragraph” in their reports “when they consider it necessary to draw the attention of users of the information to a matter that is fundamental to understanding the financial statements.” It is not the first time that one of these notes has been included in Barça’s accounts, but in the previous year’s accounts there was no reference to the sales of assets, only to the existence of negative net worth, which occurs when losses They surpass the rest of the items precisely because the equity from sales decreases.
The main financial operation in the last year was the sale of 15% of the television rights linked to the League for 400 million, which have generated profits of the same amount.
The auditor also mentions the current moment of uncertainty regarding the IPO project of the future Barça Media and draws attention to the fact that one of the new partners in this project, Libero, has not made the committed contributions and is looking for alternatives. Although it is 40 million euros, the auditor refers to a total of 120 million. If they do not comply, the club would have to assume losses already accounted for (see La Vanguardia from last Sunday).
In general, all of Barça’s activities generated ordinary income last year of 805 million euros, although the club uses the total income figure, that is, including asset sales and other extraordinary items, and adds 1,259 million.
However, ordinary expenses total about 1,125 million, which would leave a negative ordinary result of about 330 million, or only 70 if only the sale of television rights is discounted.
Among the most notable expenses is the professional team of athletes, especially that of the first soccer team, which totals 625 million, amortizations aside.
Two aspects of the club’s expenses draw attention in the accounts for the year closed last year. Firstly, the so-called external services, which total 50 million more than last year, and other current management expenses that increase by 67 million to practically total 100 million. They include everything from image rights to commissions from player representatives.
A relevant part of the audit report focuses on the accounting and analysis of the financing of Espai Barça, especially the construction works of the new Camp Nou. The total operation has an estimated total cost of 1,500 million, which Barça is financing with debt. The accounting for these new commitments has the consequence that the club’s balance grows, practically doubling, and goes from 1,400 to 2,800 million.
To issue this debt, the investors and the club agreed to create a vehicle that will issue the titles and provide the money as required by the development of the works, which are carried out by the Turkish company Limak. In last year’s financial year, according to the report, the club has disposed of 207 million.