The air at Estádio do Dragão felt lighter. José Pedro Pereira da Costa, FC Porto’s CFO, brought welcome news. He presented the club’s accounts for the 2024/25 financial year. His first words brought a collective sigh of relief. He confirmed the club no longer faces worries from UEFA’s financial control.
This wasn’t a quick fix. FC Porto had a big problem. Last year, the club faced a €50 million negative balance. This kind of imbalance usually triggers a strict UEFA financial fair play agreement. It means heavy oversight. The club would have been under UEFA’s thumb. But this year’s strong financial performance changed everything.
FC Porto spoke with UEFA. They showed a clear path to significant positive results. This convinced UEFA to ease up. The club avoided strict financial fair play measures. They also received a much smaller fine. Other clubs faced harsher penalties. FC Porto’s fine was €750,000. This amount is already part of the 2024/25 budget. It meant the club could invest in its squad. They could plan for new ambitions.
Pereira da Costa explained the club’s tough financial past. It was his first year in full charge of the club’s operating company. They faced a difficult situation. He described a big effort to cut costs. Operational expenses dropped by around €30 million. This included cuts to staff costs. Money spent on outside services also went down.
Positive net results brought in €40 million. This, along with a deal with Ithaka, truly helped. The club’s asset situation improved greatly. Shareholder equity was €10 million in the negative. They are not fully positive yet. But they are very close.
The starting point was very unbalanced. Liabilities were €243 million higher than current assets. This meant very low solvency. They have now reduced this gap to €30 million negative. Pereira da Costa noted this is a normal challenge. Even rival clubs face similar financial figures. This hard work means FC Porto can look ahead. They can chase new goals on the field.
