FC Barcelona has a massive €97 million economic loss in 2020 so far, they already know who they are going to blame for it.
The club is convinced that the main culprit for this loss and a €203 million decrease in revenue is due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In fact, they believe that the club would’ve earned those €97 million if this crisis hadn’t taken place this year. A report confirmed that the Catalan club has an €855 million revenue, which is €145 million short of the €1 billion they would’ve perceived without the pandemic.
Something that helped them greatly along the way was their cuts in expenses. Barça sold some players with major wages during the summer transfer window and saved a reported €74 million. For the upcoming seasons, Barcelona estimate €791 million in revenue and even more lost income for the club.
The club released the following statement: “FC Barcelona has not been immune to the outbreak of Covid-19, but its consequences have had a massive effect on the entire sports industry.
“There has been widespread loss of revenue among all clubs in all the major leagues due to the restrictions that had to be applied to curb the spread of the disease, including competitions first being suspended and then resuming but with matches being played behind closed doors.
“The ECA [the European Club Association] has estimated the overall loss at around €4bn (£3.6bn/$4.7bn) and Barca, as one of the largest clubs in Europe and with such extensive diversification of its income, is one of the most affected.
“The club suffered financially from the consequences of games being played behind closed doors, as well as the total cancellation of the basketball Euroleague, and hence there was a considerable loss of income.
“The lack of tourists and visitors to the city of Barcelona due to the reductions and limitations applied to international tourism also meant far fewer visitors to Barca’s premises, meaning major losses in terms of such areas as visitors to the Camp Nou Experience and the sale of products in official stores.”
