Barça: debt could reach €2.6bn after loan, with another Camp Nou departure ahead

FC Barcelona face debt that could reach €2.6bn following the approval of a new loan, while another departure from Camp Nou has been confirmed for the 2027-28 season. Neither Raphinha’s form nor Lamine Yamal’s candidacy for the 2026 Ballon d’Or will be enough, this time, to solve the club’s economic issue.

At the annual general assembly held on Saturday in Catalonia, the Blaugrana board asked socios to approve a €510m loan. The members accepted it. Of that sum, €300m will be allocated directly to construction work, with the remainder covering additional costs. Barça, who lead La Liga with seven wins from seven league matches at the start of the 2026-27 season, will consequently see their financial debt rise above €2bn.

According to The Athletic, the overall figure could even reach €2.6bn depending on the payment schedule. In Spain, the absence of a DNCG does not prevent Barça from carrying such debt. The board’s plan would be to finish the 2026-27 season at Camp Nou before playing the opening part of the following campaign, at least until January 2028, at another venue. Montjuïc, used during the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 campaigns, remains an option: vice-president Ferran Olive has confirmed to socios that there is a pre-agreement with local authorities.

At the assembly, an executive stated: “When we return to Camp Nou in January 2028, we expect a capacity of 95,000, which will restore all the potential we need to optimise the club’s financial management.” That capacity is intended to help pay off the debt and prepare for hosting the Champions League final, scheduled for 2 June 2029 in a stadium described as state-of-the-art.

Camp Nou is already selling out and generating significant matchday revenue. But according to The Athletic, that momentum would not be enough to secure the institution’s economic future as its debt continues. The new borrowing is intended, according to the British website, to complete work on the new Camp Nou. The club nevertheless generates considerable revenue every year and would appear able to repay its loans in the medium and long term.

This additional financing also takes the cost of the new stadium, through the Espai Barça programme, to almost €1.8bn, nearly three times the figure mentioned when the project was launched in 2014. Joan Laporta reportedly confirmed that the €300m allocated to the work would not fund construction of the Palau Blaugrana, the venue for Barça’s multi-sport teams. Completing the new Camp Nou nevertheless requires another departure from the stadium.