Barcelona will become the first sports team to generate revenue exceeding one billion Euros, as they expect an income of 1.047 billion Euros for the 2019/20 campaign.

BARCELONA - Barcelona will become the first sporting club to earn more than a billion Euros ($ 1.10 billion) in revenue this season, the club stated on Tuesday.

The clubs statement on Thursday said they had achieved record sales of 990 million Euros last season and expecting an increase of 1,047 million Euros for the 2019/20 campaign.

"This figure represents a new record in the sporting world and means exceeding internal expectations as the strategic plan approved by the board expects profits to reach 1 billion Euros in 2021," he added.

The club, owned by their fans, predicted a relatively modest profit after tax of 11 million Euros this season and said it owed 217.2 million Euros.

The Catalan club invested 255 million Euros for the players in the closing season, most of which was spent prising Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid for 120 million Euros and recruiting Frenkie de Jong from Ajax Amsterdam for 75 million Euros.

Barcelona chief executive Oscar Grau said they also tried to sign Dutch defender Matisse de Ligt, who joined Juventus, adding that they wanted to sign Neymar back from Paris St Germain, but they did not want to compromise the club's financial stability.

"We worked hard to get Neymar and we did everything possible," he told reporters. "We made two offers, one including players and the other without them, but we felt Paris St Germain didnt want to sell him."

"We won't lose control when it comes to players. We want the best team, but we also want to be sustainable."

Bara's accounts also revealed that they expected to spend 1.007 million Euros this season, an increase of 34 million Euros, but said they would cut their salary bill by 18 million compared to last season, a 3% reduction. (1 dollar = 0.9052 Euros)

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