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Barca asset sales help balance the books

FC Barcelona has raised a further €100 by selling a chunk of its audio-visual studio , as it races to comply with La Liga financial rules before it can register players for the new season.  The club has sold a 24.5 per cent stake in Barca Studios to Orpheus Media, taking the income it has generated from asset sales this summer above €700m.

It sold a separate 24.5 per cent stake in the studio business to crypto platform Socios earlier this month, and tool in about €550m in exchange for 25 per cent of its La Liga broadcast rights in a deal with US investment group Sixth Street.

Last summer the club had more than €1.3bn of debt and it booked a loss of almost €500m for the previous season.  Players were forced to take pay cuts and defer wages.

Although income from the recent asset sales has helped repair the club's balance sheet, much of the money has been committed to new players.   Barcelona has already spent €150m on signings tjhis summer, more than any other club in Europe.   Yet none of these players has yet been registered with La Liga due to its financial regulations.   La Liga recently told the club it would need to raise more cash in order to register players.

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