In 2004/05 (72,483), 05/06 (73,385), 06/07 (74,468) Barca - pre-Messi icon era - had a higher average attendance than in 5 of the last ten years (discounting 19/20 and 20/21 for COVID). In the remaining years it was only about 1-4K higher per year. So it's a myth that there's this huge increase in attendances in games. Commercial revenue has gone up significantly, but the way Barca report their figures are as murky as all get out. They signed a massive kit deal with Nike, which means increased shirt sales don't benefit them much, then taking over their retail operations worldwide, boosting their revenue by running their retail stores but also incurring mammoth costs in the process. A lot of talk about revenue but very little about margins. Retail operations are tough and expensive to run. Add to this they include all their revenue from their other sporting brands and also their incoming transfer fees to their revenue, and the economic picture at Barca has always been very murky and difficult to decipher. Usually hugely misleading to the casual observer. The bottom line, one which is unavoidable, is that the business consistently runs at a loss and year on year is incurring significant debt to an unsustainable level. The problem is systemic, not specific. From a lack of competence in running retail operations, to poor decisions in the transfer market, to unsustainable player remuneration packages, it all contributes to an organisation that is currently unsustainable economically. And regardless of the value Messi contributes, or doesn't, that basic fact is impossible to escape.