Joan Laporta is not one to mince his words. The president of FC Barcelona claimed in June that the club had been “clinically dead” when he took the reins in March last year, but that it had now moved to intensive care after some emergency financial surgery.
His goal was to convince those in front of him — an audience of the club’s member owners — to approve measures to repair its battered balance sheet and allow it to once again “lead a normal life”. Barcelona had just booked a near €500mn loss following the 2020/21 season, a record for any football club.
With the blessing of the membership, which votes on key decisions, Laporta has since sold more than €600mn of assets, and more are on the block.