FC Barcelona is holding its Ordinary Assembly this Saturday, where the club’s delegates need to vote on approving the financial results for the 2023/24 season.
The club is reporting a loss of 91 million euros, despite claiming a positive ordinary result of 12 million euros. The issue comes from the auditor’s recommendation to set aside funds for unpaid investments from Barça Vision and to reduce the book value of this asset (408 million euros), which the club did not do. Had they followed this advice, the losses would have been even higher.
The current board, led by Joan Laporta, believes these numbers still show a significant improvement, emphasizing that the club is no longer losing 200 million euros per year in regular operations, as it had in recent years. Income has increased across most categories. However, the opposition disagrees and argues that the financial situation is worse than it was under the previous president, Josep Maria Bartomeu. They are encouraging members to vote ‘no’ on approving the financials.
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So, what happens if the delegates reject the accounts? Not much, really. The board isn’t required to resign or take drastic action. It just means that the financial department will need to adjust the accounts, likely addressing the concerns raised by the auditor. The process to reformulate the accounts has no strict deadline, and once done, another Assembly will be held to vote again.
While a ‘no’ vote may not cause immediate operational issues, it could affect the club’s image and reputation with creditors and investors, like Goldman Sachs. Although banks aren’t likely to deny Barcelona credit because of this, it could still cast a shadow over the club’s financial credibility.
Aside from the 2023/24 results, members will also need to approve the budget for the 2024/25 season, which is expected to bring a modest profit of five million euros if all goes according to plan.
