FC Barcelona's Members And Attendance Numbers Down This Season

In Spain, these are bad times for everybody, and "football is no exception," according to Gemma Herrero of MARCA. Fans cannot afford as much as they use too, and all the clubs, including FC Barcelona, are seeing this. Barça President Sandro Rosell said, "So far 20,000 members are late on their first payment for this season." Rosell added that the club is conscious of the situation and "is understanding of the members that have not been able to pay on time." In '11, the club had a record 176,158 members, but this season the number has dropped to 169,318. It is the first time in the modern history of the club "that the number of members has decreased." Attendance at the Camp Nou stadium has also seen a decrease from last season. After five games, the average attendance is 73,581 compared to 80,168 for last season. Furthermore, Barça has played Real Madrid this season, and 98,000 were in attendance for the game, so the overall numbers would actually be much worse if it were not for the Clasico (MARCA, 10/18).