The economic situation of FC Barcelona is once again in the spotlight because the club has not included in its balance sheet presented to LaLiga the 100 million euros it was supposed to receive from the sale of 475 Spotify Camp Nou boxes. The decision of the new auditor, Crowe Global, has raised doubts among the club’s sporting management, which directly affects the planning for the 2025-26 season.
Crowe Global rejects the VIP box operation
The Crowe Global firm has questioned the validity of this operation as it claims that the 100 million euros cannot be considered income for the year 2024 and therefore cannot be considered a real asset. The reason for this is that Barcelona have not yet started playing at the Spotify Camp Nou and therefore the sale of the VIP boxes has not yet been fully completed.
This valuation does not coincide with that of the previous auditor, Grant Thornton, who did give their approval to the operation, allowing this income to be included in the club’s accounts. However, the arrival of the new auditor has meant a much stricter review and has resulted in the elimination of these funds in the accounts delivered by the club to LaLiga, which could leave Barcelona out of the now famous 1:1 rule of financial fair play and limit its ability to sign players in the next summer transfer market.
The sporting consequences
The exclusion of these funds has been a problem for the sports planning of Barcelona since it had already anticipated this income to guarantee signings. But with the Crowe Global audit, the sports department has been forced to stop any movement until the issue is clarified.
For its part, La Liga had already expressed doubts about this agreement due to the origin of the income associated with the Moldovan businessman Ruslan Bîrlădeanu; the lack of transparency of this operation has increased the demands for control of Barcelona.
How it affects the future of Barcelona
The audit had an immediate effect in January through the registration of players such as Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor, who have been registered thanks to the appeal for precautionary measures before the Higher Sports Council and which has been dealt with by both LaLiga de Tebas and the RFEF (we will see how the CSD ends this). However, the lack of these 100 million euros in the club’s accounts could complicate the registration of new signings and worsen the salary margin for next season.
Atlético de Madrid, Athletic Club and Sevilla have also questioned Barcelona’s situation, and have asked LaLiga to apply stronger measures, which could lead to stricter control of the club’s financial operations and possible sanctions if it is clarified what has happened to the 100 million.
Uncertainty continues to mark the course of Barcelona, who must find quick solutions to ensure their financial and sporting stability and explain what has happened with this agreement. Meanwhile, the 100 million from the VIP boxes remain unknown.