Barcelona’s financial woes continue as the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed their appeal against a UEFA ruling that found the club guilty of misreporting income. The Spanish giants will now have to pay a fine of 500,000 euros (USD 542,000).
The case stems from Barcelona’s handling of a deal to sell off a percentage of its broadcast rights for the next 25 years. UEFA accused the club of “wilfully and consciously” misreporting the income from this deal in order to comply with European soccer’s financial rules.
In total, Barcelona secured deals worth 667.5 million euros (USD 724 million) in 2022 for selling off 25% of its future broadcast earnings from the Spanish league. However, UEFA said that Barcelona deliberately misreported one of these deals in its financial accounts and “overstated” its break-even results by 267 million euros (USD 290 million).
UEFA’s rules are intended to ensure the financial stability of clubs and only allow them to make certain losses over three years. The sale of “non-tangible assets” such as future broadcast earnings are not allowed to be included in these break-even calculations.
Barcelona has faced financial turmoil in recent years and reluctantly had to allow club great Lionel Messi to leave in 2021. The club’s financial situation has been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to a loss of revenue from ticket sales and other sources.
The CAS ruling is a major blow to Barcelona and could have further implications for the club’s financial future. The club is already facing a transfer ban for the summer of 2023 and could be forced to sell more players in order to balance the books.
