Good news for Barcelona as finances move past ‘stable’ phase into a ‘positive’ phase | OneFootball

Barcelona’s economic situation over the past few years has not been anything to boast about as the Blaugrana have struggled to make ends meet and found their hands tied on the transfer front.

Signing Dani Olmo and Pau Victor last summer and struggling to register the players was perhaps their lowest point, but Joan Laporta and Co. have been working hard to turn the situation around and undo the damage done by the previous board.

In a recent report by Morningstar DBRS via MARCA, the latest update on Barcelona’s financial situation has been brought out and it comes as massive news that the outlet proclaims the team’s credit capacity has finally moved from stable to positive.

Moving past a difficult period

As explained in detail in the report, Barcelona issued approximately €1.5 billion in debt in 2023 through bonds and loans for the renovation of the Spotify Camp Nou.

It also relays that the club projected an income of €761 million in 2014 which was alarmingly only 3% less than the income in 2023 owing to the transfer to Montjuic which hit the economy hard. Salaries, moreover, took up 70% of all income in recent years.

Things looking up on and off the field. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)

Now, however, Laporta and Co. have managed to reduce staff costs, improve player contracts to more favourable terms, and have obtained a positive EBITDA for the first time in the last four years.

The improvement in financial performance in the last two years on the aforementioned parameters along with the expectation for further improvement given the team’s return to the Spotify Camp Nou, thus, has helped the trend change from stable to positive.

After all, the club is now expected to generate a positive free cash flow and show a capacity for deleveraging.

Morningstar also predicts revenues to reach €1.1 billion in the financial year 2027 if the club returns home and finishes at least second in La Liga and reaches the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League in the coming years.

The forecast also brings to light that the salary of staff will only be 55% of income between 2025-2029 and that the EBITDA will be €90 million in 2025 and €100 million in the medium term.