Barcelona loses millions because of Johan Cruyff

Just five days before their much-anticipated La Liga match against Valencia, Barcelona announced the stadium that will host their first home match of the season. This comes after the team was forced to play its first three matches away from home under German coach Hansi Flick. The choice of the Johan Cruyff Stadium came as a result of the club's failure to obtain an occupancy permit from the Barcelona City Council, which prevented the club from returning to Spotify Camp Nou as planned. Despite the club's great efforts to expedite the reopening of the historic stadium, administrative obstacles delayed the return, dealing a double blow to the club, both institutionally and financially, especially since Barcelona relies heavily on matchday revenue to repay its massive loan to Goldman Sachs. According to the Spanish newspaper Sport, holding the match at the Johan Cruyff Stadium would result in significant financial losses for the club. In the 2024/25 season, Barcelona's average revenue per match at Montjuïc was approximately €2.8 million, based on an attendance of approximately 45,000 spectators, with an average expenditure of €61.8 per fan. In contrast, the Johan Cruyff Arena only seats around 6,000 spectators, and even with ticket prices raised, such as those for the Joan Gamper Trophy match (ranging from €138 to €600), the maximum revenue would not exceed €370,000. This means that Barcelona would incur a loss of approximately €2.43 million compared to the usual average revenue at Montjuïc.