Barcelona's problematic financial situation has been well documented over the past decade, and the club currently find themselves in nearly €2bn of debt.
This ever-growing debt has caused the club several headaches in recent times, so it came as a surprise to many when they announced in 2023 that they were going to spend more than £1bn on a Camp Nou renovation.
The club have pursued a number of money-making schemes to try and ease their financial woes, and while some have been successful, it hasn't stopped them from finding themselves in situations where they have been unable to register new signings.
Barcelona's controversial seat licensing scheme explained
One money-making initiative that the club have committed to is a seat licensing scheme inside the renovated Camp Nou.
On the face of it, seat licensing may just sound like a fancy term for a season ticket, but there are some key differences.
Those who purchase a seat license inside the Camp Nou are effectively buying the seat from the club for a fixed period of time. The benefit for the buyer is that they are then able to do what they see fit with the seat on a weekly basis, including selling the seat to whoever they want for how much they want.
🚨 𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚: Barcelona have sealed a deal to sell 475 VIP seats at the Camp Nou for €100M. 🤑💙❤️
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) January 16, 2025
The sale was concluded with Middle Eastern investors for a maximum of 30 years.
(Source: @sport ) pic.twitter.com/mrAtZDxwPc
The seat licensing scheme inside the Camp Nou is currently limited to VIP sections, which means the working fan isn't impacted by the initiative quite yet, but never say never.
To date, Barcelona have sold 475 VIP seats at their home to two investment groups, New Era Visionary Group and Forta Advisors. The deal was agreed at €100 million for 475 seats for 30 years. The only issue Barcelona currently haveis that there is still €30 million outstanding to be paid.
FGG says: Leading the way (but not in a good way)
Barcelona may well be pioneers when it comes to seat licensing in European football, but this isn't something they should be proud You can only imagine the number of club owners around the world who have been inspired by the idea, and that's bad news for working class suppporters.
Manchester United, who are also in hefty debt, are reportedly weighing up a similar scheme for their proposed 100,000-seater stadium.