FC Barcelona have sold a further 24.5% stake in their audio/visual studio to production company Orpheus Media for 100 million euros to help register their new summer signings.
The club has signed Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Frank Kessie, Andreas Christensen and Jules Kounde during a busy summer window as well as renewing the contracts of Ousmane Dembele and Sergi Roberto.
They have been unable to register any of these players with the league as they currently do not meet the financial criteria set by La Liga forcing them into another round of share sales to raise the much-needed funds.
Of all the new signings, Christensen and Kessie have built-in clauses that would allow them to leave on free if the club does not find a way to register them before its first La Liga game which takes place on Sunday (00:00PKT)
“With this investment, the strategic partners in Barca Studios show confidence in the value of the project and the future of digital content in the world of sport,” the club said in a statement.
Barcelona has made several such deals this summer in order to balance their books, offset losses, reduce debt and fulfil LaLiga’s financial fair play rules. The club sold 25% of their stake in Barca Studios last month to digital fan token firm Socios.com.
In June, Barca approved the sale of a minority share of their licensing and merchandising division and the cession of up to 25% of their income from La Liga TV rights.
If Barcelona still cannot meet the requirements to register new signings, selling players like Frenkie De Jong may be their only option left.
