Negative accounts, modification of Statutes and green light to ‘Espai Barça’, at stake in the Barça Assembly

BARCELONA, 16 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –

This Sunday the Assembly of Compromisarios partners of FC Barcelona takes place, which will be held at the Palau Blaugrana from 3:00 p.m., with the vote of the negative accounts, the statutory modification and giving light to the financing of the ‘Espai Barça’ as some of the key points of an important Assembly and that comes at a crossroads of statements between the current and the previous Boards of the club.

Either in the first call (3:00 p.m.) or in the second (3:30 p.m.), the Assembly will begin with the report of the president, Joan Laporta, who will summarize the year at all levels and could give his first impression, and will, on the other items on the agenda.

At first, as is customary in these Assemblies, a report will be given on the liquidation of the fiscal year of last season, to give way to the vote for its approval or rejection. Some red numbers, with 481 million losses.

In the 2020/21 campaign, revenues were 631 million euros – a reduction of 26% compared to the 855 million euros of the previous year – while operating expenses increased 19% in relation to the season previous, going from 955 million to 1,136 million euros, a record figure in the club’s history.

The budget for the current season will also be put to a vote. The current Board of Directors will present to its commissioning partners a budget of 765 million income – 21 percent more than last season – with 784 million euros in expenses but with a net profit, after taxes, of 5 million of euros.

A more positive outlook than the economic close of the 2020/21 season. And to reach that positive budget of 5 million, the club uses a 31 percent reduction in the salary mass, the result of the departure of players such as Messi or Griezmann plus the reduction agreements with Gerard Piqué or Sergio Busquets, among others.

Then another hot spot will arrive, that of the ‘Espai Barça’, since the board of directors chaired by Joan Laporta will ask for the green light to obtain financing, a credit of about 1,500 million euros, in order to carry out the remodeling project from the Camp Nou, the new Palau Blaugrana and the club’s campus.

The delegates will also have a voice in terms of the Barça Studios plot, as the club will ask them for authorization to “transmit to one or more investors” a minority stake in the
share capital of the same. It should be remembered that Barça Studios is one of the plots of the club that can give more income in the immediate future.

This Assembly will also inform and vote on a possible reform of the club’s Bylaws. It will be a double vote, on the one hand several changes will be brought together in different articles, such as allowing the registration of a member electronically, expanding the maximum number of members of a Board of Directors from 21 to 25 members or reducing the duration of the mandates from 6 to 5 years. The hottest vote will be the modification of article 67, so as not to force the Board to reestablish the losses in two seasons, due to the “unsustainable” of doing in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic and because of the huge debt of the club.

Finally, the Assembly will give light to the report of the Trustee of the partners, the proposals of the partners in accordance with the provisions of article 20.11 of the Statutes, and a final turn of interventions before the Assembly closes and the focus is shifted to the LaLiga Santander match against Valencia CF.