Barcelona strengthen financial footing as Camp Nou return nears

The picture at FC Barcelona is optimistic as the club finds a stronger grip on its finances. Morningstar DBRS recently confirmed the club’s credit rating at BBB with a positive outlook, a nod to the progress Barça has made in cost control, commercial expansion, and matchday revenue.

The commercial side has done very well for the Catalan club, indeed. Barça Licensing & Merchandising (BLM) has helped the club reach new markets, while sponsorship income hit a record 259 million euros last season and merchandising pulled in 170 million, fueled in part by a 55 percent jump in e-commerce sales. Big deals, including the new Nike agreement, have reinforced Barcelona’s ability to generate income.

Matchday money is also creeping back up. The full reopening of the Spotify Camp Nou has been pushed to next month, initially limiting capacity to 62,000. Even so, hospitality packages, season tickets, and general admissions have outperformed expectations. By 2028, the Camp Nou will once again be Europe’s largest stadium, holding 105,000 fans, giving Barça a massive boost in potential revenue. DBRS projects ordinary income to reach 1.075 billion euros in 2025-26 and climb to 1.2 billion by 2027-28.

On the cost front, the club has cut the payroll – one of the biggest expenditures. Wages now make up 54 percent of ordinary income, safely within UEFA’s rules, and overall debt has dropped by around 90 million euros compared with last year.

EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization), excluding player transfers, has bounced back into positive territory, 90 million euros last year, and edging toward 100 million in the coming years.

DBRS notes, “The club has managed to reverse its financial trend, thanks to a more conservative spending approach and expected income improvement with the return to the stadium.”

The positive rating could rise further if the debt-to-EBITDA ratio (a financial metric used to measure a company’s ability to pay off its debt) drops below 4.5 times. Right now, it’s expected to hover around 5.0. But, steady profit growth and planned debt repayments could change that. Despite some risks still existing, of course, the club seems prepared to navigate them without shaking its financial foundation.