What the land that could cost Barça 47 million euros looks like now
Eleven years after the sale of the grounds of Can Rigalt, FC Barcelona has to again take over ownership of the property and associated land.
They do so having had to pay a surcharge and after the planned real-estate deal collapsed, due to the impossibility of maximising the expected economic potential of the land.
What seemed to be a visionary deal on July 14, 1997, and a lucrative sale in 2005, has transformed today into a responsibility over grounds that have an abandoned air to them.
The picture taken by Josep Maria Arolas shows the current state of Can Rigalt.
Barça has to find 47 million euros to refund the money received for the sale plus interest, for the area of 25 hectares located in the north of the L'Hospitalet de Llobregat municipal region.
The tribunal court has determined that the contract from 2005 has not been adhered to, a sale that had provided the club with 28.6 million euros benefit after tax.
The land was bought by Barça, under the presidency of Josep Lluis Nuñez, for 1.43 million euros in 1997. A third of the property was sold in the 2005 deal, under Joan Laporta's presidency, for 35.2 million euros.
Laporta has reacted to the news requesting a full explanation from the current board, as he maintains the deal to sell the land was "transparent and efficient".
