Laporta, this Saturday, at the delegates’ meeting.FCB (Europa Press)
The meeting of Barcelona members changed the focus. Most commissioners forgot that Barça recorded a negative operating result for the fifth year in a row – that is, the club’s normal business is still in the red: without the sale of assets for 800 million, the net profit of 304 million would be incomprehensible -. They also forgot the club’s high debts, estimated at 1.2 billion, to which another 1.5 billion must be added for the construction of the new stadium. “A record,” said Eduard Romeu, economic vice-president of the Barça company. The delegates’ attention was focused on the Negreira case and on the new star slogan of Barcelona fans: “sociological Madridism”.
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Joan Laporta feels comfortable on stage, speaking is his moment, even more so with the audience. In a first speech that lasted more than 40 minutes, he spent about 25% of the time talking about the Negreira case. “Barça’s history doesn’t get dirty. “We suffered the most severe attack on the image and reputation of the club,” he claimed. And the members who did not appear en masse, initially 417 delegates out of a total of 4,451, surrendered before the board and approved all the points of the day, the balance sheet of the last campaign, the budget for the 2023-2024 course and the sponsorship agreement with Ambilight TV.
The trigger of the Negreira case was Barcelona: the club paid more than seven million euros to the former vice-president of referees over 18 years. However, Laporta refers to Madrid to point out that the case was being instrumentalized. “If you go to Madrid a lot and I work there, you notice that a sociological Madridism is anchored in the centers of power. In politics, in economics and also in sport. Look who runs all the sports facilities,” he began. And he continued: “On my previous stage they didn’t have a good time. Imagine how they feel when the years go by and they have already cushioned us, and they see that there is a new Barça, with the same president who caused them so much pain, the coach is Xavi, who was one of the captains at the time and this grassroots football He is producing players again: Araújo, Gavi, Balde, Lamine… They draw parallels with that time.” The president was also convinced that Barcelona would be “acquitted” in the Negreira case and that under his new mandate “the best Barça in history will be repeated”. Laporta referred to the past to justify himself, also to remember the club he inherited from Josep Maria Bartomeu: “We saved the club from a tragedy.”
There was little room for disagreement in the meeting. For example, when one of the commissioners questioned Barcelona’s ability to repay the large debt, Jordi Masip, a member of the sports commission and deputy to the president, called for the debt to be reduced. “It’s time to close ranks and you have braked the wheels,” Laporta replied to the partner. And economic vice-president Romeu explained: “The new stadium has a life of its own and is a debt without resources of the club, it will be paid with the operating income of Espai Barça itself, which is necessary to reduce the debt.” We never hid the 1.2 billion debt.”
However, the board has not clearly stated how it intends to reduce its obligations to third parties, as the club has estimated a net profit of eight million for the 2023-2024 season, after estimating revenue at 859 million (32%). less than the previous season in which he used the levers) and expenses of 832 million (29% less than last year). “That is the important point. This was achieved despite the visit of Montjuïc, which entails a decrease in revenue as well as a reduction in sports salaries and ordinary expenses,” explained Laporta.
Despite paying 11.6 million in commissions to players’ agents, the club has managed to stabilize the wage bill, which has been at a disadvantage in recent seasons. For the 2023-2024 season, Barça plans to pay 492 million between salaries and depreciation of the first team, 57% of income. In this way it would be within the limits recommended by UEFA. “We are very happy with the squad. Despite the difficulties, we always try to be at the best level. We cannot give up competing at the highest level,” said Deco, football director of Barcelona, which hosts Athletic in Montjuïc today (9 p.m., Dazn).
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