Joan Laporta conveyed optimism in relation to the economic evolution of Barça, ruled out that the club is on the path to becoming a public limited company, expressed hope in meeting the budget and admitted that the club is looking for alternatives to Nike, with which he showed his dissatisfaction and drew a deteriorated relationship in recent times.
Regarding the ownership model, in his interview in ‘El món a RAC1’, Laporta was exhaustive. “I am the guarantor that the club will continue to belong to the members. “No one comes in here,” said the president. It is worth remembering that in recent weeks there have been different voices that came to weigh the option of Barcelona opting for a hybrid formula, like that of Bayern, in which 51% is from the partners and 49% from private companies. . “What need is there? We want sponsors who give us money and not who can take it away from us. We can find partners who enter business paths and develop it. We have it without changing the model of society,” he argued.
It will not be necessary to be a public limited company to fix Barcelona’s situation, Laporta came to say. “We are on our way to closing the darkest stage in the club’s history. If we meet the budget we will return to the 1-1 financial fair play ratio next season.” Then he added: “With this budget, profits are expected without having to sell assets. With the levers we already made profits. We have reduced the sports wage bill by 172 million euros. It used to account for 98% of income and currently stands at 57%. We will be able to take out one player and sign another.” The Barcelona president did not rule out the option of selling a player in the summer.
In the chapter of searching for more income, the issue of the sports firm is also on the table. Barça has worn Nike since 1998 and has a contract with the North American firm but the relationship between the two parties is in crisis. “We have a situation with Nike that is not desired. Parts of the contract have been breached and the relationship has deteriorated. The market offers us double,” said Laporta.
He did not mention any alternative brand but the club is negotiating with Puma. “We have three options. “Continue with Nike, accept what the market gives us and a third way is to create our own brand.”
No one is aware that the new Spotify Camp Nou is very important in the future of the entity as a source of income. About the status of the works. “They are going at a good pace, as they should, we cannot set a specific date but at the end of the year we will play on our field again.”
