Barcelona have had a track record for not having a good financial management in the last decade. Numerous ambitious investments have not managed to pay off the dividends that the club hoped they would.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has made the club lose a sum of approximately €97 million for the recently concluded 19/20 season, the Espai project will continue to be pursued by the club, as confirmed by President Bartomeu.
According to the original report by Forbes, “The original plan included the remodelling of the Camp Nou, the construction of a new Palau Blaugrana for 10,000 spectators, with a Petit Palau for 2,000, an Ice Rink for 500, and the Barça Campus.”
However, the project that was approved in 2014, was estimated to cost the club around $700 million. In light of recent events, that cost has now shot up to almost double the amount in total, with $1.46 billion now being projected as the total spend on the Espai Barcelona project by the club.
The increase in the total spend has a quite complicated financial angle to it, which we will do our best to simplify as much as possible.
The work was supposed to be completed by 2021, and was to be financed from 2017 to 2024 in installments. However, the pandemic has added costs worth of $150 million to the plans.
In addition, $105 million will be acquired from Goldman Sachs in the USA which will be followed by an interest paying period of over 25 years, consisting of payments close to $60 million per year.
Adding up the total costs of the interest and the amount to be paid for the construction, the total money spent on the Espai project comes to $1.5 billion pounds.
Barcelona have experienced one of the most tumultuous periods in their history in recent times. Should the club not be careful regarding their expenditure, things could become very sour for the Spanish giants at least in terms of finances, which are extremely important in the modern era of football.
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