The more conciliatory and proactive Laporta opened the ordinary general assembly held at the Auditori 1899, once again telematic, with a speech designed to convince. More than defending the management of his board, the president focused on the future and the need to obtain the support of the compromisarios members for economic decisions he considers fundamental for the club’s future.
Everything revolved around the same request, approving the accounts for the 2025-26 season, the budget for this year, and above all, the 510 million in new financing requested by the board, 300 to finish the Spotify Camp Nou and another 210 in the form of bonds to provide liquidity to the club and strengthen the team. A speech without great stridency and with two exceptions. On one hand, the clarification that the new Palau Blaugrana is excluded from this financing and will depend on “alternative formulas” and a jab at Real Madrid, without naming them, when referring to competitors who “when they have problems get a land reclassification.”
That money is to definitively finish the Camp Nou and accelerate income forecasts”
Joan Laporta
President of FC Barcelona
The blaugrana president tried to convince the compromisarios that the increase in financing is necessary to complete the stadium’s transformation and, at the same time, not lose sporting ground against the major European clubs. “Financial sustainability and institutional stability are the two decisive factors to be strong,” he defended. The president stated that Barça has entered a phase of economic “consolidation” after the last years of recovery and recalled that the club has exceeded 1 billion euros in revenue despite having played matches in three different stadiums during the last season.
A good part of his speech was dedicated to justifying the additional 300 million that the board requests for the Espai Barça. Laporta recalled that the project started with financing of 1.485 billion and explained that delays in the works, the rising cost of materials, improvements introduced in the project, and delays in obtaining municipal licenses have increased costs. He also emphasized the economic harm caused by prolonging the stay at Montjuïc. “That money is to definitively finish the Camp Nou and accelerate income forecasts,” he explained. The club projects reaching a turnover of 1.45 billion euros by 2030.
For the Palau, alternative financing formulas are being worked on so that it does not impact the Espai Barça budget nor the 300 million”
Joan Laporta
President of FC Barcelona
Laporta also made it clear that the new Palau Blaugrana is excluded from those additional 300 million. According to the president, the club is working on “alternative formulas” to face its construction which, as the president explained, will not generate new debt nor fall on the Espai Barça financing. “Alternative financing formulas are being worked on in parallel with the Espai Barça project so that it does not impact the Espai Barça budget nor the 300 million whose authorization is being requested today,” he explained.
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To those 300 million are added another 210 million through a bond issuance guaranteed with audiovisual rights. In this case, the money will not be directly destined to the works but to compensate for the income the club has stopped generating due to delays and to provide liquidity for ordinary activity. Laporta directly linked this operation with the need to maintain sporting strength: “If we did not do it, we would have a competitive disadvantage with our competitors.” The president assured that the operation does not endanger the club’s ownership model nor will it mean levies for the members.
Laporta also did not miss the opportunity to mention Real Madrid. The president claimed the need to be “responsible, imaginative, and brave” to compete against clubs backed by states and took the opportunity to strike a blow at Real Madrid, although without explicitly naming them, when referring to rivals who “when they have problems get a land reclassification.”
There are state clubs that when they have problems get a land reclassification”
Joan Laporta
President of FC Barcelona
Laporta also used the sporting situation as an argument to demand the support of the compromisarios. He considers that Barça has a squad prepared to compete for “three or four years,” highlighted the combination between La Masia players and those who arrived from outside, and praised the work of Hansi Flick and the sporting management. “We can say that we aspire to win everything,” he proclaimed before listing La Liga, Copa, Supercopa, and Champions among the season’s objectives.
The president closed his speech linking the Assembly’s economic decisions with maintaining the associative model. He recalled that Forbes values Barça at 6.5 billion euros and defended that the higher income that the new Camp Nou will have to generate will allow financing to be repaid sustainably. “Barça is yours and we need you to raise it in the coming years,” assured Laporta, who presented the day’s votes as decisions that, in his opinion, “will condition the club’s economic and sporting future for the coming decades.”
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