When I was growing up in London after the second world war, I would have been surprised to be told that one day I would have a great-granddaughter who would be educated in Valencios (a dialect of Catalan). D.v. I will be going to see her in the procession at the Three Kings festival. Meanwhile, my interest in Spanish football increases but as a neutral.
The authoritative Swiss Ramble has undertaken his usual forensic
analysis of the finances of FC Barcelona.
Much more is available on his Substack page.
Despite the impressive increase in revenue, which rose €95m
(10%) from €916m to a club record €1,011m, Barcelona actually reported a
pre-tax loss of €14m in 2025/26, which was slightly worse than the prior year’s
€8m deficit. This was due to a steep
rise in operating expenses, which grew €111m (12%) from €900m to €1,011m, while
net interest payable increased €13m (47%) from €26m to €39m. This was partly offset by an improvement in
profit on player sales, which more than tripled from €12m to €39m.
Although much smaller than some of the substantial losses
reported in recent years, Barcelona’s €14m pre-tax loss is still one of the
highest in La Liga, though all of the comparatives are from 2024/25, as none of
the other clubs have yet published accounts for last season.
Of course, Barcelona’s reported results have been heavily
distorted by their famous financial levers.
As it stands, Barcelona have made €832m from pulling these financial
levers, split between TV rights €665m, Barça Vision €87m and Personal Seating
Licences €80m.
This had the impact of reducing losses by €266m in 2021/22,
€799m in 2022/23 and €5m in 2024/25, offset by the €225m impairment in 2023/24
and net €14m in 2025/26.
The inability to generate big money from transfers in recent
years has hurt them financially, though the flip side is that some of the
departures have helped reduce the wage bill, such as when Robert Lewandowski
left on a free transfer this summer.
Barcelona climbed four places from 6th to 2nd in the 2024/25
Deloitte Money League, which ranks clubs globally by revenue. That’s obviously
good news, but it’s worth noting they were top of the table as recently as
2019/20. That said, there is now clear
water between the two Spanish giants and other elite European clubs, as the
next highest were at least €100m lower, namely Bayern Munich €861m and Paris
Saint-Germain €836m.
Barcelona’s €541m commercial revenue is now higher than Real
Madrid’s latest published figures of €481m, though it is possible that this
will change once their detailed accounts are available. This stream is a major reason for the large
revenue disparity in Spain, as Atlético Madrid’s €116m is less than a quarter
of the Big Two, while there is then another huge gap to the next highest clubs,
namely Real Betis €37m, Sevilla €29m and Villarreal €29m.
Unsurprisingly, Barcelona are now among the best clubs in
the world in terms of commercial operations, e.g. in 2024/25 they were only
behind Real Madrid (based on the Deloitte Money League definition), but well
ahead of Bayern Munich.
Barcelona only had the ninth highest broadcasting income in
Europe in 2024/25. The strength of the Premier League TV deal was illustrated
by their clubs filling three of the top four places, led by Manchester City’s
€332m.
Barcelona’s financial recovery has been helped by better
performances in Europe, where they have averaged €105m in TV money in the last
three seasons, compared to €76m in the preceding 3-year period, when they twice
failed to get out of their Champions League group. Barcelona have earned a very decent €458m
from Europe in the last five years, though this was a long way below Real
Madrid’s €598m. Atlético Madrid were not too far behind with €437m,
A good record in Europe will also help Barcelona’s chances
of qualifying for the FIFA Club World Cup, where the expanded format means that
big money is now available. Barça missed out last time round, as Spain’s
representatives were Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid, who earned $83m and $21m
respectively.
Barcelona’s match day revenue increased by €42m (28%) from
€150m to €192m, driven by the return to the Camp Nou in November 2025, after
more than two years of playing home matches at the Olympic Stadium.
Barcelona’ Espai project, including the Camp Nou
redevelopment, has been described by president Laporta as “the most important
project in the club’s history, vital to maintain Barcelona’s leading position
in world sport, and at the same time a pillar in the club’s financial recovery
and future viability.” It was originally
budgeted at €600m, but the cost then soared to €1.5 bln, before the estimate
recently jumped another €300m to €1.8 bln.
Football wages and transfers
Football wages increased by €65m (14%) from €463m to €528m,
mainly due to first team renewals, especially the big new contract awarded to
Lamine Yamal, while a couple of loan deals were brought in on high wages, i.e.
Marcus Rashford from Manchester United and Joao Cancelo from Al-Hilal. The massive wage bill in 2022/23 was clearly
one of the main reasons for Barcelona’s financial issues, but they have fallen
behind many of the European elite since then. In 2024/25 their €463m was a fair
way below Paris Saint-Germain €544m and Liverpool €509m. However, next season’s budget includes a
striking increase in wages, as these are forecast to increase by €68m (13%) to
€596m, which Barcelona said was “to maintain maximum competitiveness at
European level”. This would be a new club record, as would the €649m forecast
for total staff.
The €476m gross spend in the last five years is less than
half of the €1.2 bln outlay in the preceding 5-year period, which included the
big money signings of Ousmane Dembélé, Philippe Coutinho and Antoine Griezmann.
The reduction in net spend was equally notable, as this dropped from €530m to
€190m.
Growing debt
A major issue for Barcelona is the ever growing financial
debt, which increased by another €389m last season from €1.451 bln to €1.840
bln, comprising €1.243 bln Espai Barça debt and €597m non-stadium debt (€503m
bonds and €94m bank loans). According to the accounts, €148m is due to be
repaid in the next 12 months with another €346m the following year, though it
is possible that this will be refinanced before these due dates.
As recently as 2018, Barcelona’s financial debt was only
€68m, but it is now the highest in Europe. The only other clubs that owe more
than a billion Euros are Chelsea €1.7 bln, to fund their BlueCp “project”,
Tottenham €1.0 bln, to finance their own stadium development, and Real Madrid.
Barcelona had managed to keep the annual interest payment
down, but this shot up to a breathtaking €94m last season, as payments related
to the Espai Barça financing structure began.
As a result, Barcelona’s €94m interest payment is now comfortably the
highest in Europe, more than twice as much as the next largest charges in
2024/25, i.e. Manchester United €40m, Real Madrid €37m,Tottenham Hotspur €35m
and Inter €33m.
Unlike many other leading clubs, whose business model is
reliant on benevolent shareholders, Barcelona do not benefit from owner
funding, either in capital or loans.
The Swiss Ramble concludes: ‘On the plus side, Barcelona
were once again profitable (excluding exceptional items), while they have
managed to significantly grow their revenue, becoming only the second club in
world football to break through the billion Euros barrier, even before the Camp
Nou is finished.
On the other hand, the club has had to take on a huge amount
of debt to finance the stadium development, leading to incredibly high interest
payments and restricting the amount of money available to invest in the squad.
That said, the relative austerity does not appear to have
impeded the club’s progress on the pitch, as Barcelona have won La Liga three
times in the last four seasons, with the emergence of many talented youth
products.’
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