The former financial advisor to FC Barcelona’s president Joan Laporta and investment banker, Marc Ciria I Roig, asserted that Barcelona's financial situation worsened during his tenure.
Ciria, who was poised to become Laporta's economic president if he had won the 2015 elections, accused Laporta of jeopardizing Barcelona's future to sign players.
“I can’t make it to the end of the month and so I sell the house in Sardinia to cover emergencies,” Ciria told Relevo, using a metaphor to describe Laporta’s management. Barcelona recently took German investment firm Libero to court over €40m that has not been paid for the purchase of 9.5% of Barca Vision.
“Barca Studios has a turnover of €3m, who will pay €400m for it? Libero sees that Barca Studios is made up of six companies. If I participate in a purchase and I see that there are six companies, I take advantage of one of the clauses and leave because it is confusing. Nobody develops Barca Studios. It was not what we had agreed upon,” said Ciria.
His perspective was that “there is no financial fair play, nor will there be,” referencing Laporta’s repeated claims that Barcelona will be able to sign without restrictions next summer. “Either sell players who are already amortized, like [Ronald] Araujo or Pedri, or through investors or by selling BLM [Barca Licensing and Merchandising].”
Most critically, he noted that Barcelona is unlikely to emerge from their financial conundrum any time soon.
“The situation is that the club has an operating deficit of €300m. In three years of €700m. We have not reduced the difference between income and expenses, and we have sold assets. That has served to buy players and cover ordinary losses,” he added.
Certainly, it seems Laporta faced little accountability for his financial movements. While predecessor Josep Maria Bartomeu was wildly irresponsible with club accounts over a decade, Barcelona remained in a similar situation to when he took over, according to Ciria.
There is no doubt a balance to be struck in terms of remaining competitive on the pitch, but their big-money signings – Jules Kounde and Raphinha – are not guaranteed starters, and Robert Lewandowski has been struggling since the beginning of 2023. All three were crucial in their La Liga title win, but none have lived up to expectations set by their price tag this season.