Moving to the cost side, the Blaugrana exhibit the highest Staff costs of the eight clubs with EUR 561.6 (+42% year-on-year, +119% in the past seven seasons) and a staff cost/operating revenue ratio of 81% (+19% year-on-year) among the clubs included in our report. This figure not only represents a record for the football industry, but for sport in general, making FC Barcelona the biggest spender in Staff costs among any sports team. The main reasons for this are the contract renewal of, among others, Lionel Messi, new signings made over the transfer windows, and bonuses paid on such contracts.
Despite significant increases in Staff costs, the club managed to maintain a positive bottom-line result of EUR 12.9 million, mainly a consequence of the extraordinary profits on the disposal of players’ registrations totalling EUR 209 million. This value was derived principally from the much-debated transfer of Brazilian superstar Neymar for the record amount of EUR 222 million to Paris Saint-Germain FC. At the same time, the overall player trading result was partially curtailed by the new investments made to replace the Brazilian forward, with special reference to the acquisitions of Ousmane Dembélé and Philippe Coutinho, which almost doubled the amortisation of the squad.
