Barcelona sells 2nd package of Spanish league TV rights
Jul 21, 2022, 3:14 PM | Updated: Jul 22, 2022, 3:16 am
FILE - FC Barcelona club President Joan Laporta pauses during a news conference in Barcelona, Spain, on Aug. 6, 2021. Spain Barcelona’s members late on Thursday approved a plan to sale part of its television rights and future revenues from merchandise and licensing in hopes of injecting an immediate 600 million euros ($631 million) into the debt-ridden Spanish club. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort, File)
(AP Photo/Joan Monfort, File)
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona has sold a second package of its television rights to an American investment firm for an undisclosed amount as the Spanish club claws its way out of debt.
Barcelona said Friday it had agreed to sell an additional 15% of income from TV rights from Spanish league games for 25 years to Sixth Street. That gives the investment firm a total of 25% of the club’s TV rights for La Liga games after Barcelona and Sixth Street struck an initial deal last month.
While Barcelona made public that the first deal for 10% of the TV rights would earn the club 207.5 million euros ($210 million), it did not reveal the amount Sixth Street would pay for the next 15%.
The initial deal was followed by Barcelona signing Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich and Raphinha from Leeds on transfers that could reach 110 million euros ($111 million).
In June, Barcelona earned the approval of its club members to sell 25% of its Spanish league TV rights for a projected total of around 450 million euros ($457 million).
The club run by president Joan Laporta also said last month that it is seeking a buyer for 49% of the company Barcelona operates to negotiate its licensing rights and merchandising. The club hopes to get between 200-300 million euros ($203-304 million) in return for that potential third deal.
Laporta has said that the drastic measures were necessary to “generate profits and have positive equity” as Barcelona struggles to recover its financial health after its debt ballooned to 1.3 billion euros (nearly $1.37 billion). The huge salaries and transfer fees paid by Laporta’s predecessor, Josep Bartomeu, are blamed for ruining Barcelona’s finances.
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