Barcelona have announced that they have sustained losses of £95m for the 2019/20, citing the covid crisis as a key reason for the drop in revenue.
Barca have had to sell to buy players this summer as the realities of the coronavirus have impacted the club’s ability to operate fluidly in the market.
And their statement stated that commercial deals that were subsequently cancelled as a result of football being stopped for a period of three months has directly impacted their ability to generate capital.
The club also estimate that in excess of £30m has been loss due to a lack of footfall visiting their official stores and buying merchandise.
Barcelona have been on a mission to drastically reduce their wage bill this summer, and were able to offload two high earners, Luis Suarez and Ivan Rakitic, to Atletico Madrid and Sevilla respectively. They estimate they will have saved nearly £70m, taking into account other departures from the playing squad.
The club also announced that in the past decade it had spent in the region of £1.5Bn on transfer fees, and with sales taken into consideration, a net loss of £70m in the market.
The numbers show the impact the coronavirus crisis has had at the highest echelon of the game, and why Barca’s business this summer has been so muted.