Laporta: 'The 125th anniversary season was historic'

The FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta opened the Ordinary General Assembly of Members as required with his own review. In his speech he talked of a historic season on the sporting front, and of stability and recovery with regards to the finances. Laporta congratulated Deco and Hansi Flick for the trophies won and thanked the Club's members for their support during the process of the return to Spotify Camp Nou. 

The president began by reflecting on the Club’s overall situation and highlighted that in the past four and a half years, since his Board of Directors was elected, FC Barcelona has returned to its rightful place, improving its finances, moving forward with new Spotify Camp Nou, and strengthening La Masia. In this regard, Laporta emphasised that all indicators show Barça is in a better position than when the members chose his candidacy in 2021 elections.

"After valuing the work done by the directors, executives, and Club employees, the president thanked the support, commitment, and involvement of the members, and made it clear that 'with the Board of Directors that I lead, we feel stronger than ever to complete the work we have done.

Sporting matters

On sporting matters, Joan Laporta described the 2024/25 season, the 125th anniversary year, as 'historic'. The president referred to the motto ‘We want the ball’ to explain that, also in sporting terms, Barça has thrived when it has continued taking the initiative and has shown a strong desire to lead. The president praised the work of the sporting management, led by Deco, as well as that of the men's first team coach, Hansi Flick, and his coaching staff."

"He paid special tribute to Dr. Carles Miñarro, who passed away on 8 March, and gave full credit for the trophies won, La Liga, Copa del Rey and Super Cup, to the squad: 'an exceptional group of people with young players from La Masia and experienced players from abroad. The backbone of a highly competitive team for the coming seasons, for the present and the future.'"

The women’s football team’s treble and Aitana Bonmatí’s third Ballon d’Or, the fifth consecutive win by a FC Barcelona player after Alexia’s two awards, were also high on Joan Laporta's agenda. He also mentioned the league title won by the Barça Foundation Genuine team in Sergi Panadero’s first year leading the project, nor the Youth League won by Juliano Belletti's U19 squad, and the trophies won by the handball and roller hockey teams. 

 

Financial matters 

In reviewing economic matters, as a prelude to the intervention by Club treasurer Ferran Olivé, the president of FC Barcelona pointed out that his Board of Directors has always worked to ensure that the Club remains owned by its members and that the economic recovery does not come at a cost to them. Looking at the figures, Laporta highlighted the 2 million euros in profit from ordinary operations in the 2024/25 financial year and the 994 million euros in ordinary revenue, despite playing the entire season at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.

The historic record in sponsorship revenue, 259 million euros, thanks to the new contract with Nike, and the record in merchandising, 170 million euros, a 55% increase over last year, driven by the strong performance in e-commerce, are key to explaining FC Barcelona’s economic recovery, according to the president. He also highlighted the importance of Barça being the sports organisation with the most YouTube subscriptions, with over 24 million.

A separate chapter was dedicated to the reduction in the sporting wage bill, which now stands at 54% of ordinary revenue, two points below last season and far from the 98% in the 2020/21 season. On this matter, Laporta once again praised the work of Deco and the sporting area.

Another indicator of FC Barcelona’s economic stability is the 90 million euro reduction in debt compared to the 2023/24 season. This stability and the strong ordinary results have helped offset much of the negative impact from extraordinary results, which stand at -17 million euros, with no exceptions noted by the auditors.

The president announced projected ordinary revenue of 1.075 billion euros for the 2025/26 season and a positive pre-tax result of 5 million euros, based on the return to Spotify Camp Nou and the positive trends in sponsorship and merchandising. He also confirmed the renewal of the partnership between FC Barcelona and Spotify until 2030, covering the men's and women's first team kits as well as the front of the training kit, and recalled that the naming rights for Spotify Camp Nou remain valid until 2034.

Spotify Camp Nou 

Joan Laporta thanked the Club’s members and fans for their understanding and support during the complex process of returning to Spotify Camp Nou, after announcing that the Club has already obtained the first occupancy license granted by Barcelona City Council. Laporta called for an applause for the Espai Barça department for their work and explained that the return dates made public in recent months were based on the planned schedule. However, the build work, especially on such a scale, the largest in Europe, have always been subject to unforeseen circumstances, one of which is the administrative process required to obtain the necessary licenses.

Summing up 

To conclude his speech, president Laporta reminded everyone that FC Barcelona is a Catalan institution open to the world, and committed to democracy, freedom, Catalonia, its culture and language during its 125 year history, making it more than a Club. He continued to point out that loving Barça is to defend it against all adversities and against all those who try to control it or bring it down. 

 

More news here