Barcelona Approves $1 Billion Budget for 2017-18

Barcelona has approved its largest ever budget of $1.057 billion for 2017-18, following a record revenue in 2016-17.

The La Liga giants’ earnings of $834 million for 2016-17 were presented at the club’s General Assembly on Saturday, with club members then approving next year’s record budget with 391 votes for and 49 against, Beinsport reported.

The huge revenues did not include the $265 million received from Paris Saint-Germain for Neymar, which should prompt another record-breaking set of figures in a year’s time.

It is the first time Barca has surpassed the $825 million barrier in terms of revenue for a fiscal year and the club has now accumulated a profit of $206 million since 2010.

Barca plans to earn $1.180 billion in revenues by 2021, though that strategy could be threatened by the political unrest in Spain following the Catalan independence referendum.

Regardless of how the political situation is resolved, Barca has no plans to leave La Liga, with club president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, insisting a place in Spain’s top-flight club is key to continuing the financial development.

“Barca is more than a club and it must be a place of concurrence and respect,” Bartomeu told the assembly. “You must respect all, minorities and majorities, think about how you think. Barca will not be manipulated by political interests, or where they came from. We want to continue playing in the league and our participation is guaranteed. The viability of both institutions goes on.”