After selling 10% of their LaLiga TV rights for the next 25 years to an investment company, FC Barcelona has greatly increased their financial standing, which should result in a large increase in their pay cap.
The declaration made on Thursday is the first of several that club president Joan Laporta planned to take last week in order to pull the “levers” that would lessen FC Barcelona’s financial worries.
With an initial investment of €207.5 million from Sixth Street Partners, the agreement allows FC Barcelona to realize capital gains totaling €267 million.
From then on until 2047, 10% of Barça’s domestic TV rights revenue will go to the investment company.
Barca needed a financial boost immediately because their fiscal year ended on June 30.
The pay cap for the forthcoming season would have been affected by their accounts as of Thursday night.
Due to financial difficulties, Barça’s salary cap was reduced by 280 million euros last year, to just 97 million euros for the 2021–2022 season.
In order to put that into perspective, six clubs had higher pay caps.
Top of the list with a cap of 739 million euros was Real Madrid.
They finally were unable to re-sign Lionel Messi for this reason.
However, Barca will be able to conclude this fiscal year with a profit thanks to the cash infusion on Thursday, securing a salary cap increase that should be considerable.
Almost 50% of the Barca Licensing and Merchandising portion of the business is also likely to be sold by the club, albeit this is no longer a pressing matter.
Laporta stated, “We are activating economic levers and acting on our patient, sustainable, and effective strategy to strengthen the club’s financial standing,” following the announcement of the TV rights deal.
“Sixth Street is a partner that will bring considerable knowledge and resources while allowing us to autonomously govern our business. They are a proven supporter of football and an experienced investor across global sports and media.”
Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen’s free transfers to Barcelona have not yet been officially confirmed, despite significant rumors to the contrary.
Aside with Jules Kounde of Sevilla and Bernardo Silva of Manchester City, the club is also interested in signing Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich.
The announcement from Thursday should provide the team more flexibility in the transfer market.
