Spanish football giants FC Barcelona have recently partnered with a Japanese firm in what is regarded as one of the biggest shirt sponsorship deal. After months of discussions,Barcelona chiefs finally agreed to the deal after a majority of it’s executives voted Yes to the deal in their last extraordinary meeting.
They put pen to paper, signing the new sponsorship deal worth £200 Million with Japanese firm, Rakuten. The Catalan side will now have new sponsors Rakuten boldly written on their jerseys during the 2017-2018 campaign, replacing current sponsors Qatar Airways. However, they will continue to wear their current shirts with Qatar Airways written on it till the end of this season.
Rakuten, widely known and hailed as Japan’s largest internet shopping mall completed the massive deal with Barcelona recently, with the deal being understood to be worth up to a whooping £53millon per season. However, £5milion of that huge figure will be majorly dependent on bonuses linked to Barcelona’s success during the new season.
The huge sponsorship deal with Rakuten will see Barcelona earn double of their current sponsorship deal worth about £29million per year with Qatar Airways. This new deal is set to run for four years, with the option of a further one-year extension. Barcelona is also looking to use this new deal as a medium to expand it’s brand even further and tap into the huge potential the Asian market offers.
Rakuten has recently being under the media spotlight due a part of it’s e-commerce business dealing with Ivory and whale meat. While this is not illegal in Japan, intense pressure coming from the international scene as well as from the Environmental Investigation Agency wants Rakuten to stop such sales. It is also believed that Barcelona will try to use it’s influence and persuade Rakuten to put a blanket ban in place.
Barcelona’s success on the pitch is definitely yielding benefits and elevating their commercial status. This new sponsorship deal now puts them among the top earners from shirt sponsorship, alongside premier league giants Manchester United.
The Spanish giants announced that the sponsorship deal will commence from June 2017. Already, the internet has seen a leak of Barcelona’s new shirts for the 2017-2018 campaign with the name Rakuten boldly written on it as well as Rakuten’s logo. However, Barcelona is yet to release an official statement confirming the new jersey or denying it.