Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, has revealed they will receive an initial €1billion if the breakaway European Super League goes ahead.
Laporta said it would solve the club’s financial woes and make the team more competitive.
Barca, Real Madrid and Juventus, among the 12 founding clubs, are still involved in the project.
“For starters, there would be a bonus of €1bn for the founding clubs,” Laporta told SPORT in an interview. “Per season, we could get around €300m annually in this competition. Moreover, the key to the Super League is that it will be governed by the clubs. UEFA, obviously, would be there at the governing table, but the clubs would be a majority.”
The Super League project was launched in April 2021 but collapsed 48 hours later after Premier League clubs pulled out due to a widespread public backlash and political opposition.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) is set to rule in the coming months on the challenge made by Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus, the clubs that remain in the project, to the alleged monopoly they say UEFA has over international competitions.
Football’s governing bodies, UEFA and FIFA, are against the creation of the Super League.
Resolution next year
“In March we expect a resolution from the Luxemburg courts and having begun a dialogue with UEFA. I believe in a couple of seasons the competition could start,” Laporta added.
“Last Tuesday’s meeting between the Super League CEO Bernd Reichart with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, was an important step forward. What the Super League aims to do is improve football, fight for the sustainability of football. So that the clubs come out of bankruptcy, so that the clubs can be more and more competitive and have more resources.”
Laporta said in August 2021 that his board had inherited a club record debt of €1.35bn. But the sale of assets this summer allowed Barca to reduce debts and spend over €150m in the transfer window.
“The economic levers have helped to save the club from bankruptcy and to build a competitive team,” Laporta said. “But the hole was so big that we still have an operating deficit of €200m annually as a result mainly of the enormous expenses that we have, especially with the wage bill.”
