Soccer-Barcelona forecast 274 million euros profit this season

(Reuters) – Barcelona said it recorded a profit of 98 million euros ($98.27 million) for the 2021-22 financial year and forecast a 274 million euros profit for this season.

Barcelona rank second on Forbes’ list of soccer team valuations with a current value of $5 billion, behind rivals Real Madrid, who are valued at $5.1 billion.

The club said on Monday their board of directors closed the financial year with a turnover of 1.017 billion euros and approved an operating income budget of 1.255 billion euros for this season.

Earlier this month, LaLiga raised Barcelona’s spending limit by 800 million euros, bringing the club out of a spending deficit after the Catalan side sold off chunks of assets to patch up their finances.

To offset losses and comply with LaLiga’s financial fair play rules, Barcelona sold 25% of their domestic television rights to U.S. investment firm Sixth Street for the next 25 years in two deals worth over 500 million euros.

The club raised an additional 200 million euros from the sale of a total 49% stake in Barca Studios in two separate transactions, while also signing a long-term sponsorship deal with streaming giant Spotify in March.

That allowed Barcelona to spend more than 150 million euros in the close season on Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde, while Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessie, Hector Bellerin and Marcos Alonso all arrived on free transfers.

Barcelona are second in LaLiga on 16 points after six games, two points behind Real.

(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

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