Barca heading for world record sponsorship deal that could hurt Arsenal
Robin Bairner
- 24 Jan 2022 19:38 GMT
- 3 min read
Barcelona’s financial problems have been widely reported, but the Camp Nou side could be about to turn the corner in part thanks to new sponsorship deals – although these have the capacity to hurt Premier League club Arsenal.
Barca’s current shirt sponsor is Rakuten, who pay them around €55 million per year for their place on the club’s famous jersey.
Although that deal is set to end, with the Japanese company angry at the club for an incident involving Antoine Griezmann during a pre-season tour to the country, Barcelona’s commercial appeal remains.
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Sport even reports that Barcelona are in line to secure a world record sponsorship deal, exceeding that of Real Madrid (€70m), Manchester United (€61m) and Paris Saint-Germain (€60m), who presently surpass them.
It is said that the Camp Nou outfit are targeting a formula that could potentially land them €100m per year.
Who wants to sponsor Barcelona?
The local paper reports that Barcelona have been in negotiations with VeganNation, a cryptocurrency company, since November. Main shirt sponsorship could be worth €80m.
Polkadot, another cryptocurrency company, are also in talks with the club, but it is a deal with Spotify that could see Barcelona hit the jackpot.
If Spotify were to win the contract to become the club’s title sponsor, it would open the door to VeganNation taking up a lesser sponsorship on the club’s sleeves or on their training jerseys, in turn raising extra finances.
Barcelona, of course, would not enter a deal with two competing cryptocurrencies.
Meanwhile, there could be a potential knock-on effect at Arsenal.
The Premier League side have been linked with a takeover from Spotify founder Daniel Ek for several months, with a number of club legends backing the potential deal.
It remains to be seen if the music streaming service were to partner with Barcelona, though, whether their owner would retain an interest in the Gunners. It is possible but doubtful.
Either way, this is undoubtedly good news for cash-strapped Barca.
