For 2011, Barcelona's gross debt stands at around €483m

In 2010, Forbes evaluated Barcelona's worth to be around €752 million (USD $1 billion), ranking them fourth after Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Arsenal, based on figures from the 2008–09 season.[107][108] According to Deloitte, Barcelona had a recorded revenue of €366 million in the same period, ranking second to Real Madrid, who generated €401 million in revenue.[109]
Along with Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, and Osasuna, Barcelona is organised as a registered association. Unlike a limited company, it is not possible to purchase shares in the club, but only membership.[110] The members of Barcelona, called socis, form an assembly of delegates which is the highest governing body of the club.[111] As of 2010 the club has 170,000 socis.[86]
An audit by Deloitte in July 2010 showed that Barcelona had a net debt of €442 million, currently 58% of net worth as evaluated by Forbes. The new management of Barcelona, which had ordered the audit, cited "structural problems" as the cause of the debt.[112] News had emerged that the club had recorded a loss of approximately €79 million over the course of the year, despite having defended their La Liga title.[113]
For 2011, Barcelona's gross debt stands at around €483m and the net debt is at €364m.[114] Barcelona was found to have the highest average salary per player of all professional sports teams in the world, just ahead of rival Real Madrid.[115]
Records

For more details on this topic, see List of FC Barcelona records and statistics.
Xavi presently holds the team record for number of total games played (681) and the record number of La Liga appearances (446), surpassing the previous record holder Migueli (391).[116]
FC Barcelona's all-time highest goalscorer in all competitions (including friendlies) is Paulino Alcántara with 369 goals.[116][117] The all-time highest goalscorer for Barcelona in all official competitions, excluding friendlies, is Lionel Messi with 318 goals. He is also the record goalscorer for Barcelona in European and international club competitions[118] and the record league scorer with 220 goals in La Liga. Four people have managed to score over 100 league goals at Barcelona: Lionel Messi (217), César Rodríguez (192), Ladislao Kubala (131) and Samuel Eto'o (108) .
On 2 February 2009, Barcelona reached a total of 5,000 La Liga goals. The goal was converted by Messi in a game against Racing Santander, which Barça won 2–1.[119] On 18 December 2009 Barcelona beat Estudiantes 2–1 to win their sixth title in a year and became the first ever football team to complete the sextuple.[120]
Barcelona's highest home attendance was 120,000, for a European Cup quarter-final against Juventus on 3 March 1986.[121] The modernisation of Camp Nou during the 1990s and the introduction of all-seater stands means the record will not be broken for the foreseeable future as the current capacity of the stadium is 99,354.[122]
Crest and shirt

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On the other hand, Real Madrid was widely seen as the embodiment

There is often a fierce rivalry between the two strongest teams in a national league, and this is particularly the case in La Liga, where the game between Barça and Real Madrid is known as El Clásico. From the start of national competitions the clubs were seen as representatives of two rival regions in Spain: Catalonia and Castile, as well as of the two cities. The rivalry reflects what many regard as the political and cultural tensions felt between Catalans and the Castilians, seen by one author as a re-enactment of the Spanish Civil War.[94]
During the dictatorships of Primo de Rivera and especially of Francisco Franco (1939–1975), all regional cultures were suppressed. All of the languages spoken in Spanish territory, except Spanish (Castilian) itself, were officially banned.[95][96] Symbolising the Catalan people's desire for freedom, Barça became 'More than a club' (Més que un club) for the Catalans. According to Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, the best way for the Catalans to demonstrate their identity was by joining Barça. It was less risky than joining a clandestine anti-Franco movement, and allowed them to express their dissidence.[97]
On the other hand, Real Madrid was widely seen as the embodiment of the sovereign oppressive centralism and the fascist regime at management level and beyond (Santiago Bernabeu, the former club president for whom the Merengues stadium is named, fought with los nacionales).[98][99] However, during the Spanish Civil War, members of both clubs such as Josep Sunyol and Rafael Sánchez Guerra suffered at the hands of Franco supporters.
During the 1950s the rivalry was exacerbated further when there was a controversy surrounding the transfer of Alfredo di Stéfano, who finally played for Real Madrid and was key to their subsequent success.[100] The 1960s saw the rivalry reach the European stage when they met twice at the knock-out rounds of the European Cup.[12]
El derbi Barceloní
Main article: El derbi Barceloní
Barça's local rival has always been Espanyol. Blanc-i-blaus, being one of the clubs granted royal patronage, was founded exclusively by Spanish football fans, unlike the multinational nature of Barça's primary board. The founding message of the club was clearly anti-Barcelona, and they disapprovingly saw FC Barcelona as a team of foreigners.[101] The rivalry was strengthened by what Catalonians saw as a provocative representative of Madrid.[102] Their original ground was in the affluent district of Sarrià.[103][104]
Traditionally, especially during the Franco regime, Espanyol was seen by the vast majority of Barcelona's citizens as a club which cultivated a kind of compliance to the central authority, in stark contrast to Barça's revolutionary spirit.[105] In 1918 Espanyol started a counter-petition against autonomy, which at that time had become a pertinent issue.[101] Later on, an Espanyol supporter group would join the Falangists in the Spanish civil war, siding with the fascists. Despite these differences in ideology, the derbi has always been more relevant to Espanyol supporters than Barcelona ones due to the difference in objectives. In recent years the rivalry has become less political, as Espanyol translated its official name and anthem from Spanish to Catalan.[101]
Though it is the most played local derby in the history of La Liga, it is also the most unbalanced, with Barcelona overwhelmingly dominant. In the league table, Espanyol have only managed to end above Barça on three occasions in almost 70 years and the only all-Catalan Copa del Rey final was won by Barça in 1957. Espanyol has the consolation of achieving the largest margin win with a 6–0 in 1951. Espanyol achieved a 2–1 win against Barça during the 2008–09 season, becoming the first team to defeat Barcelona at Camp Nou in their treble-winning season.[106]
Finances and ownershi

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