LALIGA SANTANDER

Barcelona extend credit facilities for ‘ordinary operating activities’

The Catalan giants have borrowed more money to help cover their expenses, with big payments due in a few months’ time.

RODOLFO MOLINADiarioAS

Barcelona’s board of directors held a meeting on Thursday evening but before it had even ended, the club posted a statement on its website announcing that it had reached agreements to extend credit facilities with two Spanish banks, Banco Santander and CaixaBank.

The statement says that “the approval of both operations strengthens the Club’s position regarding its ordinary operating activities and is testament to the confidence in the entity [the club] among banking institutions”.

What are ‘ordinary operating activities?

What are considered ‘ordinary operating activities’? Generally-speaking, this term refers to the payment of the club’s general expenses, which includes electricity, water and gas bills, as well as employees’ salaries; a significant percentage of sports-related salaries must be paid in the month of June, which may explain the timing of the announcement.

Barcelona are renovating Camp Nou and the rest of their facilities despite their well-documented financial struggles. FC BARCELONADiarioAS

Almost €50 million borrowed

The details of the agreements are outlined in the statement:

“When it comes to [the] policy [credit facility] with Caixabank, which was set to expire on 30 April 2023, it has been extended until 30 April 2026, for a maximum amount of 17 million euro[s].

When it comes to the policy [credit facility] with Banco Santander, which was set to expire on 15 May 2023, it was also extended for three years until 15 May 2026, for the amount of 32.5 million euro[s].”

All in all, the two credit facilities amount to €49.5 million. What is not known, however, is the interest rate associated with them. One thing that is for certain, though, is that Barcelona are some way away from getting out of the financial hole they currently find themselves in.

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