From the Gordon affair to the "swallow Barcelona" project: Laporta's calculations spark controversy in America
He borrows to pay for a player
Talk of Barcelona's financial crisis is no longer an internal Spanish affair. It has become rich material for the world's biggest newspapers, particularly regarding how president Joan Laporta manages the Catalan club's projects.
This time, "The Athletic" opened the Catalan club's files and revealed an economic paradox that could only happen at the Camp Nou: how can a club that generates one billion euros make a loss?
Working from the official financial data for the 2025/2026 season, the American analysis painted a shocking picture of the Blaugrana's financial future.
Record profits: a loss in the end
For the first time in its history, Barcelona have smashed through the one billion euro revenue barrier. Their haul of 1.02 billion euros makes them only the second club in football history to hit the figure, behind fierce rivals Real Madrid.
That commercial milestone has not spared them financial pain. Barcelona closed the year with a net loss of 17.8 million euros after tax, proof that the sheer scale of their spending keeps swallowing everything the coffers bring in.
The two-billion nightmare draws closer
The most startling figure was the sheer scale of the debt. On 30 June 2026, Barcelona's total debt hit 1.84 billion euros, up from 1.45 billion the year before. That's a 27% rise in just 12 months.
Worse still, the number didn't stop there. The club has issued new debt bonds worth 105 million euros over ten years since the close of the financial year, leaving it a single step from the two-billion-euro barrier. "The Athletic" expects Barcelona to break through it officially during the 2026/2027 season.
Espai Barça: the project swallowing the club
The biggest debt secret lies in the "Espai Barça" project. More than 1.2 billion euros of the total debt is directly linked to financing the renovation of the Spotify Camp Nou stadium.
Joan Laporta's administration is betting the project will generate an extra 250 million euros a year once complete. The problem lies in the timing. Construction delays cost the club more than 90 million euros in interest alone last season.
According to the budget, the project still needs another 300 million euros to be finished. Terrifying repayment instalments await: 149 million euros in the 2026/27 season, 346 million euros in 2027/28 and 366 million euros in 2029/30.
Gordon case exposes liquidity crisis
The report cited a strange example that lays bare the scale of the crisis: the Anthony Gordon deal. Rather than pay Newcastle a 22.3 million euro first instalment from their own coffers, Barcelona had to borrow the money from a bank, and the interest pushed the cost of the deal even higher.
According to the American newspaper, the club put this down to "routine liquidity management" caused by a delay in stadium revenues.
The short-term figures tell the story. Barcelona must pay 905 million euros during the 2026/27 season, yet they hold just 529 million euros in current assets. That leaves a working capital deficit of 376 million euros.
The wage bill explodes again
The wage bill has risen again, reaching 573.7 million euros last season, an increase of 12%, and next season's budget is expected to reach a new record of 648.9 million euros, placing Barcelona among the highest-spending clubs on wages in Europe.
There were bright spots amid the gloom, according to the newspaper. Commercial revenues climbed to 564.1 million euros and licensing and marketing revenues to 189.5 million euros, with the gradual return to the Camp Nou beginning and VIP revenues recovering.
None of this means Barcelona are on the verge of collapse. But the club is living through a severe financial crisis and an unprecedented paradox: they have never earned as much in their history as they do today, and never carried as much debt. Their future now hangs on three keys. Complete the Espai Barça as quickly as possible, drive up the new stadium's revenues, and refinance a mountain of debt whose interest has begun to devour everything.
