Barcelona finance director Javier Faus gave a press conference this morning to set out the club’s economic situation at the end of the season, which saw Barcelona make a €32 million net profit, despite losing over €8m on the sale of David Villa.
Barca’s top line numbers were impressive, as revenue increased by €21 million to €491 million. Gross profit was €44 million, the second highest in the club’s history. Barca also paid out between €16 and €20 million in bonuses for winning the league last season.
Faus went on to explain that the club took a €8.3m hit on the sale of David Villa to Atletico Madrid as they still owed Valencia €10m from their 2010 purchase of the striker, and received €2.1m from Atletico. But Barca felt that was a good deal because they were able to get Villa’s wages off the books.
On the subject of the Neymar deal, Faus added that:
“Obviously the deal doesn’t hit the profit and loss account, but we had to pay the €57 million up front and that hits cash flow obviously. As he was here before 30 June that amount has gone through the books.”
In a statement that will interest Manchester United in their pursuit of Cesc Fabregas, Faus said:
“We have to balance the books, so the amount coming in equals the amount going out. We’ll have a maximum amount we can invest, which depends on the sale of players. Thiago’s sale to Bayern has given us more funds for signing players.”
Whether Fabregas goes or stays might come down to what other players Barca can bring in this summer and what they will cost. They desperately need at least one top central defender and with the departure of Villa they are without a recognized center forward in their squad. Can they fill both positions with the €25m they got for Thiago? I don’t think so, which is why I still think that Cesc will be sold this summer.
