The financial crisis at Barcelona has been well-documented with the club operating on a greatly restricted budget this season.
Earlier this week, club president Joan Laporta confirmed the club’s debt now stands at a staggering £1.16billion - an increase of over £171million since January.
The club’s financial situation meant that Lionel Messi was unable to sign a new contract at the club and has subsequently joined Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year contract.
Barca still need to slim down their wage bill for this campaign despite Gerard Pique committing to a pay cut with the club still seeking exits for several high earners in the first-team squad.
There was a further financial blow to the Catalan giants confirmed on Friday which is set to cost the club £34million in revenue this season.
As outlined by Diario Sport, with the current health restrictions of Catalonia meaning they will lose 26,238 of their normal level of season ticket holders for the campaign.
The number for this season is set to be capped at 57,262 due to the ongoing pandemic, down from the normal maximum number of 83,500 - that is set to hit the club’s coffers by £34million.
Barca opened their La Liga campaign last Sunday at home to Real Sociedad and were unable to sell out their restricted allocation of season ticket holders in attendance, meaning that the club had to open tickets to club members without season tickets and then to the general public.
The Catalan club have however struck a loan deal with financial company Goldman Sachs which will see them receive £510million at an interest rate of 1.98 percent.
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The details of the agreement have been described by El Mundo Deportivo, with the club using their TV rights and audio-visual income as collateral in the deal.
Club president Laporta hailed the deal as "giving air to the club for a year and a half" and claimed that the agreement was a victory for the club, with the previous loan agreement with the bank having an interest rate of six percent.
This is significant because of the £510million loan, £120million has been renegotiated from the previous loan deal - negotiated by the former board, headed by ex-president Josep Maria Bartomeu - meaning that the overall repayable sum will be lower based on the new interest rate.
The financial situation is likely to dominate the club for the months and possibly years to come, with funding for the Espai Barça project their next priority.
This project includes plans to extend the Camp Nou from 99,000 seats to a capacity of 105,000.
Increased ticket sales and matchday revenue, coupled with increasing the number of corporate boxes from 30 to 100, alongside increased sponsorship opportunities, could bring in up to an extra £129million per year for the club according to financial projections.
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