Barcelona Posts €17.8M Loss for Last Season, Hit by Audiovisual Impairment

Hupu Football News | September 12 | Source: 2Playbook

Barcelona's core operations have stabilized for the 2025-26 season, but the club continues to feel the impact of previous "economic lever" transactions, according to Marc Menchén of Spanish sports business media outlet 2Playbook. The club recorded a loss of €17.8 million last season, roughly in line with the prior year, driven primarily by another asset impairment in its audiovisual subsidiary, Barça Produccions.

Barça Produccions Impairments

During the post-pandemic financial adjustment phase, Barcelona recognized €408 million in accounting revenue through its audiovisual business. After confirming a €53 million loss for the 2024-25 season, the club has now recognized an additional €23.2 million impairment on Barça Produccions, according to the latest financial statements to be submitted for approval by the members' assembly.

Barcelona's net equity remains negative at -€168 million. Excluding this factor, the club would have achieved economic break-even for the second consecutive season.

Barça Produccions once planned to go public, but after multiple impairments, the valuation of 100% of its equity has dropped to just €116 million. Meanwhile, Barcelona's stake in the company has increased from 53.4% to 63.14%.

The club explained that the increased shareholding resulted from one partner "partially waiving claims and restructuring the payment schedule for the remaining amount." It remains unclear whether this partner is Aramark, Vestigia, Jaume Roures, or the Socios platform.

Despite consecutive impairments, Barcelona stated: "The club still believes in the company's sustainable operational capability and future development potential. A corresponding business plan has been formulated, and it is expected that the company will generate sustained revenue in the near future."

VIP Seat License Issues

Entering the 2026-27 season, Barcelona may face similar challenges with its VIP hospitality business. The club confirmed that since the start of the new season, it has regained control of 142 Personal Seat Licenses (PSLs) after one of two previous investors failed to pay €28.4 million.

Going forward, the long-term sale of these VIP seats will be handled directly by Barcelona. The club's ability to resell these seats will directly impact whether it can return to net profitability in the 2026-27 fiscal year.

This transaction dates back to January 2025, when Barcelona sold the 30-year usage rights for 475 VIP seats at Camp Nou in the form of long-term licenses—a model common in the U.S. market. The total deal value was €100 million.

Since the relevant payments were not fully received at the time, yet the transaction was still counted as club revenue, the operation sparked significant controversy—particularly regarding whether these revenues should be recognized by La Liga and their impact on Barcelona's salary cap. Now, one investor has indeed failed to complete all payments. If Barcelona can avoid a negative impact on the 2026-27 season's financial results, the club expects to achieve a final net profit of approximately €1 million for this season.

2026-27 Budget Outlook

According to the budget, Barcelona's operating revenue for the 2026-27 season will rise to €1.195 billion, driven mainly by:

• Increased Camp Nou revenue
• Growth in commercial activities
• Capital gains from player transfers

The club's total wage bill is expected to reach a record high of €636 million.

2025-26 Season Revenue Breakdown

Barcelona's core operating revenue slightly exceeded €1 billion for the first time, reaching €1.00089 billion—a year-on-year increase of 4.5%, though still about €7 million lower than the previous budget.

Stadium-Related Revenue

The gradual reopening of Camp Nou was a key driver of revenue growth. Both revenue streams most directly related to stadium usage achieved double-digit growth:

• Matchday revenue (including general ticket sales): €152.1 million, up 28.2% year-on-year
• VIP hospitality: €53.6 million, more than double the previous season
• Friendly matches: €17.3 million in revenue

Membership and Season Tickets

As the club sold more season tickets, membership and season ticket revenue increased by 27% year-on-year to €40.1 million. However, this category remains about €25 million less than in the last season when Camp Nou operated at full capacity.

TV Broadcasting Rights

Revenue stood at €244.6 million, down 2.4% year-on-year, as the team did not advance as far in the Champions League knockout stages as in the 2024-25 season.

Commercial Revenue

After increasing by nearly €200 million in the previous season, existing commercial contracts entered a stabilization phase. Commercial revenue ultimately reached €564.1 million, up 1% year-on-year.

However, the contribution of long-term VIP seat license deals to commercial revenue fell from €71.6 million to €9.5 million. Consequently, newly signed sponsorship deals and Barcelona's licensing and merchandise business (BLM) have grown in importance, with BLM revenue reaching €177 million.

Player Transfers

Capital gains from player transfers nearly tripled, rising to €38.1 million, primarily from the departures of Deulofeu, Pau Víctor, Fati, Trincão, and Virgili.

Wage Costs and Expenses

Barcelona's personnel costs for the entire sporting department rose 6.6% year-on-year to €549.4 million. This represents:

• 52% of the club's total revenue
• 55% of operating revenue
• Significant room before reaching UEFA's maximum threshold of 70%

This cost remains clearly below the average annual figure of over €600 million during the 2017–2023 period.

Wage Cost Composition

Due to contract renewals with several first-team core players and the signing of new players, direct wage expenditure for the sporting department in 2025-26 rose 13.1% year-on-year to €490.7 million—a level approaching that of the two seasons prior to the pandemic.

In contrast, amortization of transfer fees fell 27.8% year-on-year to only €58.7 million. (The original report contained an apparent typo, referring to "the lowest level since the 2025-20216 season.")

Other Costs

The increase in other costs was largely related to the reopening of Camp Nou and stadium construction:

• Procurement and related costs: €95 million, up 19.2% year-on-year
• Other operating expenses: €251.9 million, up 9.5% year-on-year
• Depreciation and amortization of fixed assets (excluding player transfer fee amortization): €21.6 million, down 13.7%

Financial Adjustments

The combined effect of provisions made and released resulted in a negative impact of €9.8 million on financial results. Adding financing costs associated with the Espai Barça project, the asset impairment of Barça Produccions, and other financial adjustments, these items collectively recorded a negative value of €63.2 million.

Debt Position

By the end of the 2025-26 season, Barcelona's net financial debt rose from €469 million to €607 million. The club's total debt and loans amounted to €910 million—a figure that does not include the €1.5 billion in debt issued previously to finance the Camp Nou and Espai Barça projects.

Source: 2Playbook