FC Barcelona have received a significant boost in improving their current financial situation after the majority of board members approved two financial mechanisms on Thursday.
In a virtual meeting, the general assembly approved by a clear majority to activate the two financial mechanisms to obtain income, estimated to be around 600 million euros from both operations, the club said in a statement.
The first motion was to sell 49.9 percent of Barcelona Licensing and Merchandising. The second one allows the club to sell 25 percent of its income from television rights over the course of the next 25 years.
After the meeting, Barcelona president Joan Laporta compared the club to a Formula One car that had run out of fuel with a seized engine to explain the evolving finances at the club.
"We started the F1 car up, but it still couldn't move. But now the club needs to activate the BLM and TV rights 'levers' to correct the finances earlier than forecast, obtain positive equity, pay off the debt in a sustainable manner, and be able to make the investments required for our professional teams to be more competitive," Laporta said in a release.
Continuing with the comparison, the Barca president said that the economic levers will allow the club to return to the top and will allow them to compete and win trophies again.
"We can't make that kind of investment. We want an investor to come in who must respect the identity and idiosyncrasy of the club. We turned down important offers because the investor wanted too much control of the business and we believe that the club must have the majority because it needs to be under our control. We can negotiate, but always keeping in mind that we must maintain a majority," he said.
The recent economic struggles of Barcelona have been related to the high salaries of the first-team squad and Lionel Messi's exit from the club to Paris Saint-Germain last season.
The Spanish club's blame for the situation has been placed on former club president Josep Bartomeu, who resigned in 2020 amidst accusations of irregularities in his administration.
Source : IANS