Barcelona (both the city and the football club) has a very favourable image among those on the left of the political spectrum in Northern Europe. For them the Spanish civil war defines their attitude to Spain and they invariably will not follow Real Madrid. It was, of course, all a long time ago: the small but significant group of Spanish civil war refugees we had in the town in which I live has literally died out and all my current local Spanish friends (one who lives opposite me) are economic migrants.
Barcelona (both the city and the football club) has a very favourable image among those on the left of the political spectrum in Northern Europe. For them the Spanish civil war defines their attitude to Spain and they invariably will not follow Real Madrid. It was, of course, all a long time ago: the small but significant group of Spanish civil war refugees we had in the town in which I live has literally died out and all my current local Spanish friends (one who lives opposite me) are economic migrants.
But Barcelona the football club is changing as it is buffeted by economic forces outside its control. This is exemplified by the recent shirt sponsorship deal with the Qatar Foundation. Barcelona directors do not get paid, but there has been criticism of such practices as charging private aircraft to expenses.
The new club president is trying to sort that out as a part of a broader austerity regime that will bring finances under control without endangering performance on the pitch. The new guard at the Camp Nou has promised to double cash flow and retire about €30m of debt by the end of the current season, drastically reducing gearing in the process.
Barca is increasingly come under business school gurus who see it as essentially similar to Walt Disney. Marcel Planellas of Easde business school in Barcelona told the Financial Times, ‘Just like Disney, you’ve got your stars, your world tours, the box office, the televison rights, the T-shirts and all the other merchandising.’
Business school influences are increasingly strong at the club. Sandro Rosell, the club president, has a MBA from Esade. The vice-president finance and strategy, Javier Faus, also has an Esade MBA. He also holds a degree in financial law from Georgetown University, a top US school. Jordi Moix, an economy and strategy director, also has a MBA from Esade, as well as an international management degree from the Thunderbird School of Global Management [sic].
In fact the majority of the board members have graduate business degrees and MBAs from a variety of Barcelona-based institutions including Iese, EADA and the Universitat de Barcelona. Esade has produced two case studies on FC Barcelona. Just to even things up, Iese professor José Luis Nueno is the co-author of a Harvard Business School study of Real Madrid.
The rivalry of the Catalan capital’s team with Real Madrid in the Spanish capital runs deep. But with the explosion of global pay-TV rights with footballers as multimedia celebrities, it is also very big business. When Real played Barcelona earlier this season, it was watched by an estimated 400m people worldwide, generating millions of euros in television rights, stadium tickets and merchandising.
This site is edited from England and Spain, homes of the world’s two leading leagues. There are many chapters to come in the story of Real Madrid and Barcelona.