Barcelona have made a profit of €304m from the 2022-23 season, but few are congratulating themselves in Can Barca. Their financial difficulties look set to continue for some time, although Vice-President of the Economic department Eduard Romeu claimed that as early as next year, members could expect to see a ‘normalised year’.
Barcelona’s total income for the 2022-23 season was €1.259b, while costs are at €1.165b, Romeu told Marca. According to him, they managed to bring in €4m more than they expected, but that their costs were €100m over expectations. In total, their net profit was €30m over expectation after tax and re-valuations.
Of that income, €400m of it was attributed to the sale of television rights, while a further €200m comes from their sale of 49% of Bridgeburg Investment, the subsidiary company that handles their income, but Romeu included that in ‘ordinary income’. Taking out the sale of their TV rights, their income was set at €860m, although he did note that they brought forward €100m in costs down the line.
Of that €100m, €58m came from contract write-offs from players, including Jordi Alba and Gerard Pique, who negotiated mututal terminations last season. Of their costs, €676m came from their salary bill, which represented 79% of their ‘normal income’.
That normal income would not have had Barcelona in profit, but Romeu did lay out plans for profits next year. The budget for 2023-24, which will be presented to members for their approval at the club general assembly, should bring a net profit of €27m. That will come from a projected income of €859m, while they are predicted to reduce their costs to €832m. This would be a reduction of €233m, while their ‘ordinary income’ would decrease by €1m. Part of this comes down to the cost of spending the year at Montjuic rather than Camp Nou, a cost which Romeu estimated at €78m.
With so many accounting practices in operation, it can be difficult to decipher the true meaning of these figures. On the one hand, Romeu promises a normal financial year next summer, which would see Barcelona in profit without incurring extra debt from their day-to-day operating costs. However their salary costs are still well over a healthy percentage of their income, and they seem some way from being able to compete financially with their competitors.
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