Laporta reveals the sanction UEFA wanted to impose on Barça and defends the match in Miami

The latest FC Barcelona's ordinary general assembly allowed Joan Laporta to present the results of his mandate in recent months. In addition to submitting the accounts for the 24/25 financial year and the official budget for the current season to a vote by the delegate members, the president revealed details about the latest financial decisions of his administration.

One of them, the one that has recently generated the most buzz, was the dispute over the Villarreal-Barça match in Miami. The squad and coaching staff are not, by any means, happy to travel to the United States in December for the last match of the year. However, the club supported LaLiga's initiative due to the economic benefits it generates.

"We're not thrilled about taking our team far away, but as President Gaspart used to say, 'it's necessary to obtain atypical income'," Laporta began. In that sense, he compared the trip to the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia to the League match in Miami.

Barça's reasons for supporting LaLiga with the match in Miami

"Deco and Flick are the first ones who want to preserve the good physical condition of the players, but they go to Arabia to earn money that they wouldn't earn otherwise," argued a Laporta who, although he still doesn't know how much money Barça will earn for playing at Hard Rock Stadium (there is talk of 5-6 million euros), understands that it is a usable income.

"We will surely take the opportunity to expand our image in the United States, an increasingly important market where the next World Cup will also be played. Expanding the club's image generates sponsors," added the president of FC Barcelona. In this regard, he compared the NBA's position regarding playing games in Europe.

"It will be much more than the income we would have if we played in **Villarreal**. I cannot say an amount that they have not yet communicated to me."

Similarly, Laporta compared the Villarreal-Barça match in Miami with the activation of the 'levers' that, since 2022, have allowed the club to overcome its financial problems. Playing outside of Spain, like the sale of assets, generates rejection from a sector of the fans and members, but in the long run the economic benefits prove the board right.

"The levers served to prevent you (members) from having to reach into your pockets. It is a transfer of assets for a certain time, which are later recovered," explained the Barça president, recalling the sale of 25% of the television rights after rejecting LaLiga's agreement with CVC.

Barcelona Could Be Excluded from the 2025/26 Champions League

On the other hand, Joan Laporta explained how the board avoided a much worse fine from UEFA last summer. The club was forced to pay 15 million euros for its financial problems, but initially the punishment was 60 'kilos'.

The highest authority in European football, however, imposed conditions on Barça regarding the economic benefits it must generate in 25/26 and 26/27, with the aim of balancing its accounts according to the 'levers' activated between 2022 and 2024.

"The fact that Barcelona is not a public limited company and cannot make capital increases was one of the arguments we used to get UEFA to reduce the fines for non-compliance with 'Financial Fair Play'," Laporta explained.

The club, in fact, could have been excluded from the Champions League this season, even as champion of LaLiga and a semi-finalist in the previous edition. Ultimately, the punishment was reduced, but conditioned on meeting objectives in the next two seasons.

A total of 710 member representatives attended the latest ordinary general assembly of FC Barcelona. At the last meeting of 2024, the maximum attendance was 927, while in 2023 there were only 656 members at the meeting via telematics. Currently, there are 4,641 member representatives registered with Barça.

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