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Tag: Joan Laporta

  • FC Barcelona get financial boost ahead of new campaign

    FC Barcelona get financial boost ahead of new campaign

    Ahead of the 2022/2023 season, FC Barcelona have given themselves a major financial boost that should see their salary cap increase significantly.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the financial boost is coming after Barcelona sold 10 per cent of their La Liga TV rights for the next 25 years to an investment firm.

    Last week, club president Joan Laporta promised to activate the “levers” that would ease FC Barcelona’s financial concerns, and Thursday’s announcement is the first such step.

    The deal sees FC Barcelona generate capital gains totalling 267 million euros (278 million dollars), with Sixth Street Partners making an initial investment of 207.5 million euros.

    The investment group will subsequently receive 10 percent of Barca’s domestic TV rights revenue until 2047.

    Barca’s need for a financial injection was urgent due to their financial year ending on June 30.

    Their accounts at the end of Thursday would have impacted the salary cap for the upcoming season.

    Last year, Barca’s financial woes saw their salary cap slashed by 280 million euros to just 97 million euros for the 2021/2022 campaign.

    To put that into context, six clubs had larger wage limits.

    Real Madrid were top of the pile with a cap of 739 million euros.

    That was ultimately the reason they could not sign Lionel Messi to a new contract.

    But the capital injection on Thursday will allow Barca to end this financial year with a profit, thus ensuring a salary cap increase that should be significant.

    The club are also expected to sell almost 50 percent of the Barca Licensing and Merchandising (BLM) part of the business, but that is now less urgent.

    Speaking after the TV rights deal was announced, Laporta said: “We are activating economic levers and executing on our patient, sustainable, and efficient strategy to strengthen the club’s financial footing.

    “Sixth Street is a proven supporter of football, an experienced investor across global sports and media, and a partner that will contribute significant knowledge and resources while allowing us to independently manage our operations.”

    Barca are still yet to confirm the arrivals on free transfers of Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie, who have been strongly tipped to join.

    The club are also keen on signing Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, while Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva and Sevilla centre-back Jules Kounde are reportedly key targets.

    Thursday’s news should allow the club greater room for manoeuvre in the transfer market.

  • What Barca president told Lionel Messi in public

    What Barca president told Lionel Messi in public

    Barcelona president Joan Laporta has told Lionel Messi in public that he must stay.

    Laporta was sworn in as the new Barcelona president on Wednesday evening and the new boss’ message to Lionel Messi was the main headline from his introductory speech.

    Messi was in attendance for the ceremony, along with various other players and Blaugrana figures, and Laporta turned to address Messi at one point.

    “We will, for example, try to convince Leo to stay at the club,” Laporta said during the speech, at which point applause broke out in the room.

    “Sorry Leo… I will do my best and he knows it!

    “We’re going to try, of course, to convince him to stay here because he’s the best player in history.

    “Sorry, but I love you and Barcelona also loves you.

    “If this stadium were full, you wouldn’t want to go.”

  • Joan Laporta elected Barcelona president for second time

    Joan Laporta elected Barcelona president for second time

    Joan Laporta was elected FC Barcelona president for a second time on Sunday as club members voted him in to replace Josep Maria Bartomeu.

    The 58-year-old Laporta beat Victor Font and Toni Freixa to become the club’s president for a second time.

    He was previously in charge between 2003 and 2010.

    Laporta had 19,293 votes after 75 per cent of the votes had been counted, with Font on 10,404 votes and Freixa on 3,347 votes, guaranteeing him the victory.

    “Let’s go to Paris and see if we can turn it around,” said Laporta as he celebrated his victory at Camp Nou, referring to FC Barcelona’s UEFA Champions League last 16-second leg clash with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on Wednesday.

    Bartomeu stepped down from the role in October 2020 as he faced a vote of no confidence from club members, with elections called for January.

    But the elections were postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

    Laporta inherits the club with gross debt of around 1.2 billion euros (1.4 billion dollars).

    And this has come ahead of Lionel Messi’s contract expiring in the summer, meaning the star player can walk away for free.

    The 33-year-old Messi voted in the election, along with teammates which included Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Riqui Puig, while former president Bartomeu also voted to choose his successor.

    Bartomeu was detained by police earlier this week as part of an investigation into the “Barcagate” social media scandal, relating to a company hired to monitor the club’s online presence.

  • Why I want to be Barca president again – Laporta

    Why I want to be Barca president again – Laporta

    Joan Laporta is ready to take charge at Barcelona for a second time.

    Laporta was the president between 2003 and 2010, overseeing Barcelona’s most successful ever period, and his affection for the club has seen him lead an impassioned campaign to return to the highest position at the Camp Nou.

    “Because I love Barcelona,” Laporta responded when asked why he was running again. “I like challenges and this is the most important in my life right now.

    “Sure I made mistakes [in first spell], but I prefer to remember the good times. I learned from mistakes and that experience will help me to not repeat them. I do not intend to look in the rear-view mirror, I am very focused on what to do from the 24th [of January].

    “I have very good memories of the past, things turned out very well. Excuse me for remembering only the good. From the bad, [I aim to] learn and correct it.”

    Laporta was a vocal critic of former president Josep Maria Bartomeu throughout his presidency.

    “I already said in 2015 that I did not trust the people who were going to run the club nor their management model. We left such a good legacy – they wanted to take advantage of it so much but they didn’t make the appropriate adjustments.”