Barcelona unveil record €1.195bn budget as club enters new financial era

Barcelona have unveiled plans for the largest budget in the club’s history and the biggest ever recorded in Spanish football, forecasting operating income of €1.195bn for the 2026-27 season.

The club’s board will present the financial accounts for 2025-26 and the proposed budget for the new campaign to members for approval at the ordinary general assembly on Saturday, 19 September.

Barcelona ended 2025-26 with record operating income of €1.06bn, exceeding the previous season’s figure of €994m. However, the total fell slightly short of the €1.075bn projection included in the original budget, according to Mundo Deportivo.

The club recorded a profit of €200,000 from ordinary operations. But exceptional items turned the overall result into a loss of €14m before tax. After a corporate tax charge of €4m, the net loss stood at €18m.

Barcelona said the loss could have been avoided, and the season could have ended with a positive result, if the club had completed the sale of a player before 30 June 2026.

The accounts identified two main exceptional factors. Barcelona introduced personal seat licences (PSLs) for executive seats at Spotify Camp Nou, with their updated value recorded at €9.5m through New Era Visionary Group and Forta Advisors.

The club also recognised a further reduction in the value of Societat Barca Produccions. A pre-tax exceptional expense of €23m was recorded, taking the total reduction in value to €116m.

Barcelona currently retains a stake valued at €73m. Its overall holding has increased from 53.4% to 63.14%, following the cancellation of debt and the introduction of a new repayment schedule for the remaining stake held by one of the partners.

Commercial income continued to provide positive news for the club. Sponsorship revenue reached a record €265m, an increase of €5m on the previous year. Barca Licensing and Merchandising (BLM) generated €208m, up by €40m compared with 2024-25.

The most significant projection in the new budget is based on Barcelona playing all of their matches during the 2026-27 campaign at Spotify Camp Nou at full capacity. The club also expects the stadium’s capacity to be increased further during the first half of 2027.

Barcelona’s forecast operating income of €1.195bn would be an unprecedented figure. The club expects to make a profit of €1m from ordinary operations and is budgeting for a final net profit of €1m, with no exceptional transactions anticipated.

The club also sought to reassure its members and La Liga that sporting costs would remain within what it described as a safe range.

Of the projected €1.195bn in total income, €636m would be allocated to the wage bill. That represents 53% of revenue, broadly in line with the 54% recorded last season, when wages totalled €571m.

The increase in overall income is expected to cover anticipated rises in the salaries of key players following contract renewals. It will also allow Barcelona to strengthen other sections of the organisation, including the basketball team.

The proposed figures would mark the start of what the club describes as a new financial era, built around the return to a fully operational Spotify Camp Nou and annual income approaching €1.2bn.