Official announcement by the Board of Directors

The Board of Directors, meeting today in an ordinary session at the Club offices, was notified of the arbitration decision made recently in a case surrounding land located in Can Rigalt, a 25-hectare area north of l'Hospitalet, a suburb of Barcelona.

The ruling calls for a reversal of the operation carried out in 2005 and that 10,000 square meters of land there shall be recovered from "Inmobiliaria Mar," to which the Club had previously sold it.

The initial transaction generated a 28.6-million-euro profit for the Club and allowed it to close out the fiscal year with a profit of 35.2 million euros before taxes.

The amount set by the decision is 47 million euros, equal to the 35.4 million euros the Club charged eleven years ago plus legal costs and interest.

The club was forced to recover the land because the courts involved decided the requirements agreed upon in the contract from 2005 had not been met.

The Club's legal and financial services areas are studying the implications of the decision.

Presentation of FCB Knowledge Project

FCB Knowledge is one of the main pillars of the Club’s Strategic Plan for 2015-2021, which consists of converting experience, knowledge and talent into an academic subject.

FCB Knowledge is part of two core projects: FCB Universitas and 'Masia 360.'

FCB Universitas is responsible for putting together and sharing the knowledge generated by the Club, while 'Masia 360' comprehensively applies all the knowledge accumulated by the Club's athletes, coaches, and families, regardless of whether they are in training, active or retired.

FCB Knowledge was presented to the Board this afternoon by the Club's Professional Sports Director, Albert Soler, and the 'Masia 360 Director, Carles Folguera.

This pioneering project, which will be released publicly in the coming weeks, is unique among sports clubs and aims to turn FC Barcelona and the city into a world-class hub of knowledge.

Dispute with the European Union

The Board has looked at the lawsuit brought by the European Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager, who asked the Spanish Government to calculate and recover the millions of euros of aid which, according to her, seven clubs in Spain benefitted from dating back to the 1990s: Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Athletic Club Bilbao and Osasuna (which are not corporations and which enjoyed reduced taxation) and Valencia, Elche and Hércules, which, according to the commissioner, received illegal bank guarantees or special loans given below market price.

The Board stated the following:

1. The club has at all times complied with the provisions of Spanish legislation through its Law on Sport, adopted on 15 October 1990.

2. Since January of 2016, FC Barcelona is taxed according to the reformed corporate tax code and no longer has any difference in taxation with respect to other Spanish clubs.

3. The club will defend the interests of its members against abusive interpretations of the law.

Sporting activities

The Board has been informed of the new structure of the futsal section. The new General Manager will be Chus Lahoz. The Technical Secretary for training will be Jordi Torras and the Technical Secretary of the first team will Andreu Plaza, who until now was the coach of the B team.

Moreover, the Board also reported the contract extension for Neymar Jr until the end of the 2020/2021 season; the signing of Villarreal player Denis Suárez for the next four seasons, with an option for a fifth; and the deal reached with Olympique Lyonnais for the signing of the French player, Samuel Umtiti.

The Board was also informed of the decision of FC Barcelona Lassa basketball player Tomas Satoransky to terminate his contract, which had tied him to club for four seasons, so he could join the Washington Wizards of the NBA.