Barca the first club to surpass $1bn revenue

Barcelona have become the first sports team in the world to surpass the $1 billion mark in revenue.

The Spanish giants presented their annual accounts yesterday and said they earned $1.05bn (£810 million) for the 201718 season.

Barcelona said that it is the eighth straight year they have closed with a profit, with accumulated gains of £167m since 2010. It is the fifth consecutive year the club have broken their own record income.

The club said that their debt on 30 june was £140m. Barcelona said their budget for 2018-19, which will be submitted for approval this month, foresees earnings of €960m (£862m), in line with their strategic plan of reaching a revenue of €1bn(£890m) by 2021.

“The extraordinary income from payment of Neymar Jr.’s buyout clause (£198m) has been compensated in next year’s budget through improved commercial and sponsorship revenue, media rights, exploitation of the stadium and transfer of players,” the club said.

One of the main reasons for the increase in revenue was the new cycle for distribution of Uefa payments for the Champions League, Barcelona said.

Last month, Real Madrid said their operating revenue for 2017-18 reached £669m.

That figure does not include gains from the transfers of players. Real Madrid said they have no debt.