Since returning to the presidency of Barcelona in March 2021, Joan Laporta has gone through the general assemblies of delegate members practically without a scratch. Months after regaining control of the club, in October 2021, he managed to approve the financing of Espai Barça for 1,500 million euros when it already had another debt of approximately 1,350; A year later, in 2022, the members approved the sale of the club’s assets, a financial maneuver that Laporta turned into a successful marketing concept with the euphemism “the levers”; and last season the story focused on defending Barça from the Negreira Case instead of explaining the negative operating result, meaning that the club’s ordinary business continued in the red for the fifth consecutive year. For this Saturday’s assembly (starting at 10:00) there is no change in the political scene of Barcelona. The atomization of the opposition does not weaken Laporta’s power, not even in a week in which the potential rivals of the current Barça president have raised their voices.
There is one issue, however, that is making noise in Barcelona fans: the real value of Barça Vision, the commercial name of the subsidiary Bridgeburg Invest SL, which is dedicated to the exploitation of the Web3 business, NFTs and the metaverse. In 2022, Laporta’s board called KMPG to validate the value of the subsidiary. The consulting firm certified that the business had potential. In fact, he gave the go-ahead to give it a value of close to 400 million. A number that Laporta used to inflate the result of the year, justified at the time by the sale of Barça Vision to Socios.com and Orpheus Media. It turned out that Barça sold, but did not get paid. An operation that translates into a negative fiscal year result of 91 million for the 2023-2024 season, a consequence of the provision of 141 million for non-payment.
It is precisely this order of the day of the Assembly, that of the approval of the balance of the last year, the most controversial point that the 4,331 convened delegate members will have to vote on. “We must vote ‘no’ to Laporta’s accounts,” said Evarist Murtra, a reference for Barcelona fans and former director during the presidencies of Josep Lluís Núñez and Laporta, in an interview with Diario Sport. “The accounts for the 2023-2024 season have been prepared and closed with losses of 91 million and with an irregularity highlighted by the company that audits the club’s accounts,” seven opposition groups complained – Compromissaris FCB, Dignitat Blaugrana, El Senyor Ramon, Seguiment FCB, Sí al Futur, Som un clam, Suma Barça, Transparència Blaugrana and Un Crit Valent—, in a jointly signed statement.
The protest is not trivial. Grant Thornton, who audited Barcelona’s balance sheet, made a reservation in relation to Barça Vision. The firm understands that Barça still has 208 million in its assets, corresponding to the value of this subsidiary of the club, which does not adjust to reality. “The value of the investment recorded at closing should be impaired,” Grant Thornton suggested. “The Barça Vision operation is the most spectacular fictitious operation in the world of football,” Víctor Font, candidate for the presidency in the last elections, joined in the criticism. But Laporta defends his accounts: “We give 91 million losses that are attributable to non-payment, but that result is an exercise in prudence and transparency. The auditor speaks of ‘impossibility of quantifying’ the value of Barça Vision, but does not say by how much the value must be lowered.” According to club sources, the fact that Barcelona has been able to sell a portion of the defaults to the catering company Aramark for 40 million justifies the current value of Barça Vision. “New investors may appear,” they emphasize.
There is a situation that, according to different opposition groups, benefits Laporta so that the delegates approve his numbers: the assembly will be telematic. “The chup-chup”necessary for criticism, they say. “The fact that it is telematic makes it more participatory and we have data that proves it,” defended Laporta, who will present a budget for the 2024-2025 campaign with five million benefits. A positive result that is based on two key points: the first, the agreement with Nike that increases commercial income from 374 million to 446 million. “It will be the best contract in the world of football,” Laporta explained in Barça One. Nike, in addition, will make it easier for Barcelona to return to normality with the fair playfinancial of LaLiga, which translates into recovering the 1-1 rule (one euro that goes out in salaries is equivalent to one euro that comes in) in order to sign without economic restrictions.
The second key in the budget is the return to the Camp Nou. Barcelona plans to return home next year and that idea is reflected in the budget: the stadium’s income increases by 28 million, from 126 to 154. “Barcelonians are excited about the 125th anniversary —Miquel Barceló designed the poster of Barça’s 125th anniversary—, for the new field, for the economic recovery of the club, which has been launched respecting the ownership model… Excited for Hansi Flick’s team, scorer, with many people from home …The Assembly comes at a good time. It will be an act of exaltation of Barcelona fans,” Laporta celebrates.
The opposition, however, does not think the same. “Barça is in danger of extinction and in an emergency situation. There is a social, institutional, ethical and economic crisis and all that influences sports,” responded Joan Camprubí i Montal, grandson of Agustí Montal, president of Barcelona between 1969 and 1977, and great-grandson of Agustí Montal, who presided over the club between 1964 and 1952. Camprubí is the leader of Som un Clam, an opposition group that went to the game this Thursday in front of 1,500 people. The attendance at Camprubí’s presentation is considerable, as is the insistence of Font and the activation of the different opposition groups. But for Laporta it seems that there is no one to stop him. This Saturday he will have his public scan in an assembly that until now, in his second term, has always given him a thumbs up.