Last week, La Liga handed Barcelona a major blow by announcing their cessation of 475 VIP seats to Middle East entities as invalid, as the seats do not actually exist, yet.
This meant that the economic lever that Barça utilised by selling VIP seat rights cannot be taken into the club’s balance sheets, thus accounting for a reduction of €100 million in revenue.
VIP seats to be built by next month
However, according to a recent report from Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona, after consultations with Limak, the company in charge of construction, expects the first and second-tier VIP seats to be built by next month.
Once they are manufactured, Limak is preparing a draft confirming the physical existence of the said VIP tickets, which have become the bone of contention.
Once that is done, Crowe Global, Barcelona’s current auditor, will have to take into account the club’s agreement with Middle East investors surrounding the controlling rights of the VIP seats.
This, in turn, means that the €100 million revenue, which was reduced from Barcelona’s balance sheet, could return to the fold.
Although Barça have only received €58 million so far, €100 million has to be accounted for as there is a payment commitment from New Era Visionary Group, a company based in the United Arab Emirates.
The payment was to be made in three tranches, the second of which is scheduled to be paid between September and October, while the last tranche will be paid in 2026.
Nevertheless, once Limak certifies that 475 VIP seats are made, La Liga must register the income again, which in turn, could see Barcelona automatically return to the 1:1 rule.
This could go a long way in helping Barcelona’s squad planning, especially ahead of a busy summer, where many changes are expected.
