Jul 4, 2024
The Price of Being The Best For Barcelona


All the success that the team has experienced in the last three seasons, where ten titles have been won, has supposed a strong financial effort from the club’s arcs, as they have spent E 277.5 millions just in transfers. Football is a team sport, and as a team sport everyone involved in it needs to work as hard to make things happen. If the players, along with their coach and assistants, as well as the administrative staff don’t move at the same pace, it is very unlikely to see success happen. This formula is one that in Barcelona they don’t just fully understand, but practice as well. In the last three seasons they have been living their golden years, but not much is said about what lies behind that success: a multimillionaire investment that easily surpasses the E 300-million fee in concept of transfers and incentives.

Since Coach Joseph Guardiola began his cycle in the summer of 2008 ten titles have been won, representing an investment of E 277.5 millions to the club, just in matter of transfers. If we split that amount into ten we will get the sum of money that Barcelona had to invest to win each title is of: E 27.8 millions, which for the fans have been worth every single cent. If to that investment we add the money invested in terms of incentives, for this season aloneE 45 millions more came out from the arcs of the club: E 20 millions for wining La Liga and E 25 millions approximately for the UEFA Champions League. With a debt that rises to E 483 millions, the economic situation is not the best for Barcelona, becoming the antithesis of their present on the pitch, where they are writing the golden pages of their history with three la Liga championships in a row and two UEFA Champions League titles as their most prestigious feats. Aware of this issue before even taking charge of the club the last summer, now President Sandro Rossell and his men began to work in a plan to heal the economy of the club, a plan that has been able to reduce E 49 millions from a debt that prior to their mandate was of E 532 millions.

To do so the club has decided to adopt new policy in terms of the budget assigned to each sport, for besides football Barcelona also participates professionally in basketball, handball, hockey, indoor soccer, and the other eight amateur sections. Since the recent contract renewals of the football team represented an increase of E 28 millions in the bills of the club, it was decided to reduce the budget assigned to every sport, but football, in order to afford the investment. In the only aspect that the football team is going to be limited is in the budget for transfers, for which the club has reserved only E 45 millions, five less than last summer. Of course that these amount could be increased if the team trades some of their players, for their income would be then be reinvested to sign reinforcements. Admired by millions for its classy and flashy game that has become a role model in the 21st century, Barcelona is now focused in becoming a financial role model, and seems to be in the right track.

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