FC Barcelona: The rise and fall of the greatest club in history

Abstract

This thesis analyzes the reasons for FC Barcelona's financial crisis since 2020. Despite being one of the richest clubs in the world until 2018 and 2019, the club finds itself going nearly bankrupt in 2020 and 2021. This thesis takes the financial reports into account, analyzing statements from 2014/2015 until 2021/2022. The thesis also discusses whether COVID-19 pandemic economic shockwave was the reason behind the situation, the financial fair play rules of UEFA, or bad managerial decisions. Two similar cases are also discussed such as English side Manchester United FC and Italian side AC Milan.