Featured image credit: FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta has revealed that the LaLiga club has sold a portion of VIP boxes at the revamped Spotify Camp Nou, in a move that will allow it to remain in-line with the league’s financial fair play restrictions.
Barcelona said the sale of the VIP seats, along with the club’s new kit contract with Nike, were the two most important factors that led to Spain’s Higher Sports Council (CSD) granting a “provisional reprieve” in its ongoing battle against LaLiga.
Last week, the CSD agreed to an injunction to allow Barcelona players Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor to be registered while a final ruling is made on the club’s case against LaLiga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).
The two players were signed by Barcelona last summer but could only be registered until December 31 due to the club’s financial problems and LaLiga’s rules on player registration. From January 1, the players became unregistered and therefore could not be used by Barcelona, but they returned to the squad at the weekend for Barcelona’s Supercopa de España win over Real Madrid.
Laporta has now revealed the reasons why the rules on player registration have been relaxed. Speaking at a press conference earlier today (Tuesday), Laporta addressed the club’s finances, stating that it now stands “within the 1:1 ratio regarding financial fair play”. This would allow the club to sign players without constraints from LaLiga.
On the deal to sell the VIP seats at the new Camp Nou, in a move akin to the Personal Seat Licence (PSL) model commonly seen in US sport, Laporta said: “(It) would have eventually been made in the future, but it was finalised now because LaLiga imposed additional requirements after the club had submitted all the necessary documentation before the end of the year.”
Manel del Rio, Barcelona’s financial director, added: “The product is not an invention by the club but rather a reinterpretation of a business model that is already operating in the United States. It involves creating a licence that allows investors to exploit this type of seating. Barça therefore receives a set annual income.”
Spanish sports business news outlet 2Playbook has reported that Barcelona has sold 500 VIP seats at the stadium for a period of 30 years, which will generate an initial €100m (£84m/$103m) in income for the club, in addition to guaranteed payments over the course of the subscription period. In total, there will be 9,600 VIP seats at the new-look stadium.
The identity of the companies that have invested has not been revealed, but one will come from Qatar and the other will be from the United Arab Emirates. Laporta said the companies will have the right to exploit the assets and will be permitted to transfer them to a third party.
The Camp Nou is currently undergoing a major renovation as part of Barcelona’s wider Espai Barça project. The club has been playing at the Estadi Olímpic Companys since the start of last season while the work is carried out.
Barcelona is yet to confirm when it will return to the Camp Nou, but it hopes to do so before the end of this season. In November, the club confirmed it would continue playing at the Estadi Olímpic until early February.
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