Barcelona plan to activate the VIP seat lever at Estadi Johan Cruyff in bid to return to 1:1 rule | OneFootball

Barcelona are making all efforts to be back to the 1:1 Financial Fair Play rule that would provide them with more freedom to operate with regard to signing and registration of players.

The Catalans had briefly returned to the 1:1 status at the turn of the year when they struck a €100 million deal for the lease of 475 VIP seats at Spotify Camp Nou.

However, it was revoked in March because Barcelona’s new auditor, Crowe, stated that without physical use of the seats, the €100 million revenue could not be recorded for the purposes of financial fair play and the return to the 1:1 rule.

Barcelona’s plan to activate the VIP seat lever

Now, according to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona are set to activate their VIP seat asset this Sunday during the Gamper Trophy match against Como.

Although the match will not take place at Spotify Camp Nou, the club considers the activation valid and effective.

The 475 VIP seats are also regarded as being located at Estadi Johan Cruyff, which will host the match due to ongoing construction at Camp Nou and the lack of necessary permits to hold public events there.

Estadi Johan Cruyff will host the Gamper Trophy match. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

According to club sources, the key factor is not the location of the seats but their actual activation. This will occur on Sunday, when the designated VIP area is set to be established at the Johan Cruyff Stadium.

These seats are not sold directly by the club but are managed by the investors who purchased them, specifically New Era and Fortia Advisor, who are responsible for renting or reselling the seats.

Barcelona have indicated that the real use of these assets must be established for the auditor to validate the financial mechanism as active and effective.

With these seats set to be used during Sunday’s match, the Blaugrana expect the auditor to now acknowledge the asset, and for La Liga to subsequently recognise it.

This would have a positive impact on the club’s financial fair play status, enabling a return to the 1:1 rule.

Once matches resume at Camp Nou, the VIP seats will be relocated there. Images from the ongoing construction show the seats already installed behind the dugouts and players’ tunnel, covered to prevent damage.