Barcelona agrees further €300 million media rights sale

Spanish football giants FC Barcelona have sold a 15% stake in its LaLiga TV rights for the next 25 years to a US private equity group for around €300 million.

The sale comes less than a month after the Catalan club sold 10% of its rights for €207.5 million to the same private equity group, Sixth Street; meaning the firm now owns 25% of Barcelona’s LaLiga TV rights until 2047.

Barcelona’s shareholders voted to approve the TV rights sale last month, with members also approving the sale of up to 49.9% of Barcelona Licensing and Merchandising (BLM).

The club is the most indebted in world football, with debts totalling €1.35 billion, €673 million of which is owed to banks. However, instead of using this latest period of investment to alleviate its debts, the money is going towards big-money player signings such as the Polish striker Robert Lewandowski and Brazilian winger Raphinha. 

In December, the club said that it would raise a further €1.5 billion in debt to renovate its stadium, the Camp Nou.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta said: “We continue to move forward on our strategy and are pleased to have completed this additional agreement with Sixth Street providing us with a meaningful increase in capital strength.

“Over the past few weeks, we and Sixth Street have engaged and collaborated with a shared understanding of what we are seeking to achieve for our organisation, and we look forward to our long-term partnership.”