Barcelona: Barcelona are charging fans an entrance fee to watch an upcoming open training session as part of a drive by the European champions to boost revenues.
Club members can invite three guests free of charge for the January 5 training at Mini Stadium, next to Camp Nou, but non-members will be charged 5 Euros to watch Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta hone their skills.
Under current president Sandro Rosell, the heavily indebted club has looked to cut costs and used unprecedented means to boost revenue. Barcelona owe 369 million Euros and lost 9 million Euros last season despite winning the Champions League and Spanish league titles.
Barcelona said the club has often charged for access to open training sessions, including under former president Joan Laporta's board, and that the fee was necessary for security reasons.
The recent Club World Cup winners signed a 171 million Euros deal with Qatar Foundation, which became the first paid sponsor to adorn the club's jersey in its 112-year history.
Barcelona scrapped their 80-year-old baseball team and slashed funding to 12 small sports teams earlier this year.
While Real Madrid's debt is comparable to Barcelona's, they did not charge fans to attend an open training session at their Santiago Bernabeu stadium in August, when 57,000 spectators watched for free.
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