Spanish football giants FC Barcelona are reportedly facing severe penalties from UEFA after being found in violation of financial regulations for the second consecutive year. The club’s controversial accounting practices, particularly regarding the sale of future TV rights, have drawn scrutiny from European football’s governing body.
According to reports, Barcelona’s attempts to classify the sale of 25% of their domestic television rights (worth over €600 million combined) as regular operating income has been rejected by UEFA. European football’s financial regulators consider these transactions as “profits from disposal of intangible assets” rather than sustainable revenue streams.
This latest infraction comes after the club was previously fined €500,000 in 2023 for similar accounting discrepancies. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld that decision while warning of stricter penalties for future violations.
Potential sanctions could include:
- Reduced squad size for Champions League matches
- Points deductions in European competitions
- Restrictions on player registrations
- Hefty financial penalties
UEFA’s Financial Sustainability Regulations (formerly Financial Fair Play) have progressively tightened, now limiting clubs to spending just 85% of their revenue on wages, transfers, and agent fees – a threshold that will drop to 70% next year.
Barcelona’s financial troubles have been mounting for years, with the club’s debt once exceeding €1 billion. Their current leadership has employed several “economic levers” including the partial sale of their media production division and future TV rights to generate immediate liquidity.
While these measures helped the club register new signings, UEFA maintains they don’t represent sustainable financial practices. The looming sanctions could significantly impact Barcelona’s competitiveness in European football as they continue rebuilding after their recent financial crisis.
Club officials are reportedly in discussions with UEFA to negotiate a settlement, but analysts suggest the repeated violations may result in stricter punishment this time around. The situation highlights the growing tension between elite clubs’ spending ambitions and UEFA’s financial controls.
