Barcelona are thought to be weighing up whether mass player sales or a long-term commercial deal effectively mortgaging a percentage of future TV rights will be the best way for the club to raise the cash to fund the necessary reinvestment in the squad ahead of next season.
Barça’s debt outweighs the value of their assets and a report commissioned by Joan Laporta’s new board last year found the club to be in a state of technical bankruptcy when they assumed control.
Measures have been taken since then to ease the financial burden, which was worsened but not caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet major sacrifices still had to be made, notably letting Lionel Messi leave Camp Nou because it was impossible to register a new contract under La Liga rules.
Barça once more face the annual task of balancing the books for financial fair play purposes and must raise money before they are able to spend to equip Xavi with the squad he needs to challenge Real Madrid domestically and restore the club as a European force.
Deals to sell off 49% stakes in the club’s lucrative merchandising and in-house media arms, which could raise €400m, have already been reported in recent months.
Barça also have the option of agreeing to a 20-year deal with private equity firm CVC. Along with Real Madrid, the club publicly objected to potential CVC investment in 2021 when La Liga brokered a league-wide €2.7bn deal on behalf of its member teams.
But the potential to bring in between an estimated €270m and €300m for selling 10% of the value of TV rights over the next 20 years has brought it back to the table.
Mundo Deportivo writes that Barça still have concerns about the long-term nature of such a deal when TV money for La Liga games is already worth €165m to them each season. With inflation over time, it remains distinctly possible that the value to CVC could surpass the €300m they would pay.
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The alternative to Barça is continuing to focus on raising money from player sales.
In addition to potentially commanding €110m in deals for Frenkie de Jong and Sergino Dest, both of whom are linked with Manchester United, Martin Braithwaite, Clement Lenglet, Riqui Puig, Oscar Mingueza and perhaps even Memphis Depay could all be available for transfer.
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