Joan Laporta has never been one to shy away from drama — and this time, the Barcelona president dropped a revelation that left fans holding their breath.
Speaking during the club’s General Assembly, Laporta admitted Barcelona came dangerously close to being kicked out of the [UEFA Champions League](https://www.sportingnews.com/uk/champions-league) due to financial fair play issues.
Yes, you heard that right. The same club that once lifted the trophy with Messi and Iniesta almost didn’t make the team sheet.
According to Laporta, UEFA wanted to ban Barca from next season’s competition over repeated FFP breaches.
The Catalan giants had already been fined €15 million after failing to comply for the second year in a row. Things looked grim — until Laporta stepped in to negotiate what he called “a fair solution.”
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The secret talks that changed everything for Barcelona
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Behind closed doors, Laporta reportedly held tense discussions with UEFA officials to avoid a sporting punishment.
The president revealed, “UEFA wanted to punish us by not allowing us to play in the next Champions League. And the fact that Barcelona isn't a limited company and can't increase its capital was one of the arguments we used to get UEFA to reduce the fine from 60 million to 15 million.”
He added that UEFA’s push for suspension was strong, but the club managed to convince them otherwise. The defense?
The now-famous “economic levers” — financial moves that allowed Barca to stay afloat when the bank balance looked like a relegation table.
“Strictly speaking, leverage is not a capital increase,” Laporta explained. “It is simply a transfer of assets for a specific period of time, which are then recovered. This allowed us to save the club.”
In plain football terms: Barca sold part of their future TV rights to stay in the game today — a tactical substitution that worked just in time.
From crisis to comeback
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The negotiations not only kept Barcelona in Europe’s top competition but also marked a turning point for the club’s financial recovery.
Laporta said the levers were “intended to prevent an extraordinary outflow of members” and stabilize the club’s structure.
Now, with UEFA off their backs and the team back to winning ways, Barcelona can focus on the real battles — on the pitch. But as Laporta’s confession shows, the toughest match they played this year didn’t happen at the Camp Nou.
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