Change in Barça's economy: its credit rating improves

Good news for FC Barcelona. On this occasion, the Azulgrana team has reported through its official channels on an important improvement in its economic situation: the rating agency Morningstar DBRS has updated its assessment of the club's creditworthiness, changing from a stable to positive trend.

Morningstar DBRS has highlighted that this improvement in the trend is mainly due to the team's financial performance during the last two years. The agency has stated that "the change in trend from stable to positive is supported by the improvement in the financial performance of Fútbol Club Barcelona during the last two seasons".

The return to Spotify Camp Nou, another determining factor

According to Morningstar DBRS, another element that has supported this positive update has been "the expectation of a further improvement in revenue with the club's return to Spotify Camp Nou", in addition to the effective cost control, implemented by the Barcelona entity and supported by the sustainability frameworks of UEFA and LaLiga.

The aforementioned agency has also anticipated that FC Barcelona will generate a better positive free cash flow and demonstrate deleveraging capacity in the short term.

Espai Barça: financing and progress of the project

In 2023, the squad from the Ciudad Condal financed approximately €1,500M in debt through a combination of promissory notes and loans earmarked for the renovation of the stadium, through the securitization fund of the Espai Barça project. According to DBRS, this demonstrates that the work is in an advanced stage and that the construction risk is limited, with the return to the stadium scheduled for the middle of the year.

Due to this, the agency has decided to deconsolidate the EB fund —a regulated securitization vehicle, independent and legally separated from the club— from the finances of the Barcelona team.

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In turn, Morningstar DBRS points out that "an improvement in the credit rating could occur if the club's financial performance continues to improve, which would result in a debt/EBITDA projection (excluding gains from player transfers) of less than 4.5 times".

On the contrary, the trend could return to stable if there is more aggressive financial management or unexpected problems appear that reduce cash flow or maintain a net debt/EBITDA ratio consistently above 7 times.

Economic outlook: income, costs and EBITDA

Regarding recent results, the report details that the culé team recorded revenues of 761 million euros in the 2024 financial year, 3% less than in 2023, due to the temporary move to the Montjuïc stadium. In terms of operating costs, salaries represented approximately 70% of ordinary income during the last three seasons.

Despite this, Barcelona managed to reduce payroll costs, thus achieving a positive EBITDA —excluding transfer income— for the first time in the last four seasons.

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Projections until 2027: income, Champions and sustainability

Looking ahead, Morningstar DBRS predicts that the Azulgrana team's income will reach €1,100M in the 2027 financial year, driven by the return to Spotify Camp Nou. These estimates are based on the assumption that the Catalan team will finish (at least) second in LaLiga each season and reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League annually, forecasts that the club also includes in its budgets.

In line with UEFA guidelines, the squad cost ratio (including sports salaries and amortization of incorporations) is expected to be around 55% between the 2025 and 2029 financial years.

Consequently, DBRS predicts that EBITDA —excluding profits from player sales— will reach 90 'kilos' in 2025 and will stabilize at around €100M in the medium term, once the debt service linked to the EB fund has been discounted and provided that the club maintains a controlled cost structure.