Barcelona’s €600m deal with the Bank of America
Karan Tejwani
- 6 Jun 2022 10:38 BST
- 3 min read
Barcelona are looking to ease their financial woes and have been in talks to sell their television rights to the Bank of America for $645 million (€600 million), according to Bloomberg.
The Blaugrana have been in serious financial issues for a few years, and that has reflected in the team’s performances as they are no longer able to compete with some of Europe’s best.
This past season, they finished well behind Real Madrid, who won La Liga, and exited the Champions League early on, failing to make it past the group stage and going out in the Europa League.
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Off the pitch, the club have had problems registering players due to wage caps and league limitations, and despite agreeing deals for Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen, Barcelona are struggling to register them.
In March last year, the club was on the verge of bankruptcy, having reported debts of €1.4 billion, and had to borrow money from Goldman Sachs to help them out.
Additionally, the club has a spending cap of €142 million, the only negative limit in La Liga, which was a worrying figure for the club.
Barcelona hoping for financial help this summer
As a result, they’ve been seeking financing from elsewhere, and have been looking to sell their television rights to the Bank of America, which will help their financial worries.
The Bank of America have shown interest and this would be massively helpful, but the plan to sell 25 percent of the club’s media rights will depend on a vote by the club’s members later this month on 16 June.
Barcelona are also eager to sell a stake in its licensing and merchandising, in a move that could raise further funds for them in the long run.
Barcelona has the biggest debt in Europe. This naturally has fans and pundits scratching their heads when we seem to be linked consistently to top summer transfer targets. pic.twitter.com/4kPrRscUt2
— total Barça (@totalBarca) June 4, 2022
Over the course of the last year, CVC Capital Partners have been attempting to make a deal with La Liga clubs, but Barcelona have been reluctant to sign up, believing it isn’t a healthy long-term option.
In the short-run, Barcelona will hope the additional financing will help them in the summer transfer window, as they target big moves for Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski and Leeds United’s Raphinha.
Coach Xavi has been keen on the transfers, but has been restricted by the club’s tough money situation, however, he’ll be hoping that can be sorted out soon.
