The General Assembly of Barcelona FC members held on the 5th October 2013 and presided over by the then president Rosell, saw the club's new statutes voted in. One new item was the option for the Board of Directors to be dismissed, the aim of said statute being to avoid the club accruing excessive debts, which would ultimately put the club's sporting project in danger. When Laporta left his role as president, the club had a debt of 431 million euros.

The new statute states that if at the end of the financial year the Catalan club is in debt, the Board of Directors will be afforded two years to make the club debt-free. This is the challenge currently facing Josep Maria Bartomeu and his directors.

The 52-year-old entrepreneur has allowed the 'Blaugranas' debt levels to get out of hand. In the space of one year, debts have soared from 287 million euros to 328 million euros. This really does represent a significant increase, especially when considering that in recent years the club had performed well in this regard, after having managed to reduce the debt from the 431 million euros that Laporta left, to the aforementioned 287 million euros. In short, in a four year period the amount of debt was cut by 144million euros, whilst in just one year (2014-15) debt levels have increased by 41million euros.

The main factor behind the alarming rise in losses are the signings the 'Azulgranas' have made in the last two summers, all done in an effort to ensure on-field success.