Xavier Asensi is the CBO (Chief Business Officer) of the Inter Miami, Barcelona’s first rival on the US tour. That means that he is almost an executive president, the maximum responsible for all the non-sports part. Installed he spent ten years at Barcelona, where he was director of the commercial area after having been director of the Hong Kong office. From that office, he refused to sign invoices for services that he considered obscure and unjustified from I3 Ventures. That situation marked his last years at Barcelona and continues to haunt him: on the 20th he will testify electronically in the ‘Barçagate’ trial to repeat what he already explained to the Mossos in his day in an affidavit. A day before, his Inter team will have played against him Barcelonaclub of which he was an executive and of which he is a member, at the Drive Pink Stadium
Drive Pink Stadium, a curious name
It has a story. Drive Pink is an initiative of the Autonation company, which sponsors the stadium, to raise awareness of the fight against breast cancer. They are car dealers and you can ask to have a pink license plate in exchange for donations to collaborate in breast cancer treatments. It’s one of the things I’m most proud of.
In line with the old Barça-Unicef agreement
Yes, you can find a parallel, although in that case it was about offering assets to finance Unicef projects. In this case, it is to use the notoriety of soccer and the MLS to help raise awareness against this disease.
How much projection does ‘soccer’ have right now in the US?
The sports industry in the United States is one of the most relevant. Within that industry, soccer is growing, but it is true that it starts from very low compared to other sports. The visible faces of that growth are the MLS and the World Cup in four years. The truth is that football is growing and it is the most global sport that exists, but it is a slow growth, not exponential. Love cannot be forced. For example, we are a young club and people have to make it their own, connecting.
Is it very different to seek income for FC Barcelona than to do it for Inter Miami?
Much. There are three ways to enter: TV rights, everything generated on game days and commercial agreements. Here, being a closed league, it is the MLS that has and manages the TV rights and for the clubs they are relatively low; income for ‘match day’ depends on the stadium; and commercial agreements depend largely on the League, as is the case with the Champions League, which manages all the advertising for the competition. Therefore, our growth capacity, above all, is in our stadium, with 20,000 spectators, on match day.
How boss is Beckham?
Spectacular for who he is, his involvement in the club and the impact that everything he does has. Beyond the fact that he would have preferred that he had played for Barça and not for Real Madrid, although his team is Manchester United, both he and Jorge Mas and the Mas family are very involved.
Is having figures like Messi at Inter Miami, a possibility that has been discussed, an objective?
Yes, with nuances. Leo Messi cannot be compared with any other footballer, come apart. Having said that, what we are looking for is to be the reference of soccer in the United States and to be that, the important thing is the players and the spectacle that you are capable of giving. To give it, you need the best players and having them is a real objective of our club. As for Leo Messi, he is there and then there are the others.
Is it realistic to think that Messi can play for Inter Miami?
It depends on him and his will. We want to have the best players in the world and Messi I think he is the best in history. From here on, it’s up to you. We want to be the reference of soccer in the USA, it is one of the objectives of the property.
Is it special for you that Barcelona comes?
From an emotional point of view it is wonderful and professionally it is exceptional. Barça, if not the biggest, is surely one of the three biggest clubs in the world and the clubs are the ones that capitalize on the passion for football. I don’t know any FIFA or UEFA fans. In national team football, each one goes in favor of his country, but the clubs have no borders, they reach everywhere. And at the club level, Barça is one of the biggest, figures in hand. Emotionally, for me he is the greatest. Having him here, for the people of Miami, is spectacular.
Has this game given you a lot of work?
Scabies with pleasure does not itch.
Despite the fact that he affirms that Barça is one of the biggest clubs, right now being objective it does not seem so. How do you see the situation of the club as a member?
complicated. On a sporting level I am nobody to talk about and I think the team is, with Xavi, in the best possible hands as a coach. We will have to be patient, which is something we don’t have, but on a sporting level I have no doubt that with Xavi we cannot be in better hands. At an economic and management level, the club is in a very delicate situation, to the point that it has decided to sell club assets. Hopefully the ship can be stabilized from good results in the field sooner rather than later.
What is Inter’s goal?
There are two. Sportingly, that the team competed and in the long run titles would come. And at the brand level, the goal is to be the benchmark for soccer in the US.
Is your ten-year experience at Barcelona valuable in achieving those goals?
Yes, all experience helps a League like the MLS, in which many things start from scratch
How has Barcelona reached the current situation, having entered close to 1,000 million?
If we analyze the income channels, the TV rights have remained the same, beyond the fact that you have now sold a part. Second, everything that has to do with match day has dropped drastically and here the Covid and inflation, which makes the subscriber stop paying for their seat, play a lot: that seat is put on the market, but if there is no tourism is not purchased or is lower. If Messi is not there, the price may not be so high. Third, the section on trade agreements has also decreased, partly as a result of Covid but also as a result of decisions that are made or the commercial strategy. In my day the strategy was to maximize assets; now I don’t know it, because I’m not here, but if you look at the numbers, the volume of business has gone down. If things are done right now, perhaps in 2024 you will be back at 900 million, but it is not action-reaction, you need a few years.
Were you in favor of Messi’s continuity?
Depends on the conditions. From an emotional and culé point of view, one hundred and ten thousand percent yes, but it depends on the conditions and the situation. Things are not black or white. At PSG it has already been seen that with Messi social networks have multiplied, merchandising has grown a lot…
What is your best memory of your time at Barcelona?
Mourinho’s 5-0 win over Madrid, with a yellow collar and Unicef on his shirt, and Xavi scoring the first goal. And acting as ‘speaker’ at the Camp Nou, alongside the great Manel Vich, in English for Chelsea fans, is unforgettable, even if they eliminated us from the Champions League in the semi-finals. Despite that result, the fans’ feeling of pride was great, also in Pep’s last Champions League match at Barça.
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