2023-04-24 14:00:52
BarcelonaBarça is working on next season’s budget that it must present to the League, the first step to find out if Leo Messi’s return this summer will be viable. Is The voice of the people that the economy of the Blaugrana club continues to suffer. Therefore, the entity chaired by Joan Laporta will have to look beyond ordinary income if it wants to make the feat possible, which the Argentinian player himself is very much looking forward to in Barcelona, where he landed from Paris to spend a few days there in family
One way to achieve the return that Laporta so much desires is the departure of players, especially those who perceive a high salary and have enough sign in the market to achieve a generous transfer. The other is, as a year ago, leveraging, selling assets. One of those that closed then was that of the production company Barça Studios, of which the club sold 49% authorized by the assembly of trustees. The cake was shared between Socios.com and Orpheus Media, the estate of Jaume Roures, owner of Mediapro.
Last week some media published that Barça is studying offers from companies interested in buying a percentage or all of this 49% of the club’s audiovisual production company for a price higher than the 200 million euros paid in the summer passed between Socios.com and Orpheus Media (100 each), but ARA has spoken to sources familiar with the reality of Barça Studios who have been very surprised by this news. The two companies are still interested in maintaining their respective 24.5% and doubt that just one year later there is someone willing to offer a higher amount.
In fact, this newspaper has been able to learn that Socios.com, which kept the part of Barça Studios dedicated to NFTs, web3 and the metaverse, is very interested in the promotional tour that the organization is preparing for this summer in the United States, the same destination as the previous preseason. Last July, during the tour, the club’s first NFT, which recreated Johan Cruyff’s legendary acrobatic goal against Atlético de Madrid, was sold at New York auction house Sotheby’s for $693,000.
What can you do with Barça TV?
As reported by the ARA in February, Arístides Maillol’s offices have looked into turning Barça TV into a lever, taking advantage of the fact that the television channel’s production concession contract with Telefónica ends on June 30, a bad experience that it led to a series of worker strikes at the beginning of the year due to precarious working conditions and wages. The move valued by the Blaugrana leadership was as follows: the entry of Barça TV would increase the value of Barça Studios and, therefore, the 49% that Socios.com and Orpheus Media now add up would decrease compared to the total. Since Laporta’s board has the permission of the partners to sell up to 49%, the entry of the channel into the audiovisual tailor’s drawer would allow the sale of an extra percentage to a third party.
But, for the time being, it has been concluded that including Barça TV in Barça Studios would not greatly increase the value of the product and would have little effectiveness as a lever despite the fact that it is an exception in the new regulations of the League, which only allows 5% of the amount of money entered by leveraging assets that represent ordinary income for the club is used to sign or renew players. Since Barça TV brings losses to the Blaugrana entity, the board chaired by Javier Tebas would consider it a new way of business that Laporta could use for the most appropriate expenses. Also to sign and renew players. Including Messi himself.
The manager is one of the staunch defenders of the continuity of Barça TV as club television. In the offices there are other voices, on the other hand, who would bet on reorienting the project or even doing without it. The truth is that the contract with Telefónica ends on June 30 and Laporta has to make a decision: integrate all the workers at Barça Studios, integrate only a part of them or keep them all subcontracted. The ball is still in the air.
Before the change in the League regulations, the club asset that Laporta wanted to leverage was Barcelona Licensing & Merchandising (BLM). But now, with the mentioned change in the law, since it is ordinary income, the entity could only use 5% of the money it gets in a possible sale to sign or renew players. Therefore, it is no longer as tempting an idea as when permission was sought from the trustees’ meeting last summer to sell up to 49%.
Players prefer Japan to Australia
In the same folder of extraordinary income are the friendlies that Barça intends to play in order to make money. One of them, he said Sports world and has been able to confirm NOW, it is already closed for the weekend of June 4, with the League over. The stage will be Japan. Last year, the same maneuver was carried out once the official competitions were over. Then the destination was Australia and it brought 5 million euros to the club’s economy. This year there was also a tempting offer from the antipodes, but this newspaper has been able to learn that Japan has finally been prioritized because the players in Xavi Hernández’s squad prefer it, as the journey involves considerably fewer flying hours.
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