Japanese online retailer, Rakuten, will be Barcelona’s main sponsor for the next four years in a deal worth at least 55 million euros ($59 million) a year, the Spanish giants said Wednesday.
Rakuten will replace Qatar Airways, Barcelona’s shirt sponsor since 2013, who were reported to have paid 35 million euros for the final year of their deal taking them up to the end of the 2016-17 season.
“I have the pleasure and honour to announce that the board of directors has approved that RAKUTEN be the new main and global sponsor of the club for the next four years,” Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu told a news conference at the club’s Camp Nou stadium.
Barcelona’s success on the pitch makes it highly attractive to advertisers. Despite Champions League disappointment last season, it won both La Liga and the Copa Del Rey, Spain’s two domestic competitions.
The deal was reportedly made possible by Barca defender, Gerrard Pique, who acted as an intermediary between the Japanese company and the club.
“The deal began at a dinner hosted by Gerard Pique at Hiroshi Mikitani’s house in San Francisco in 2015,” revealed Bartomeu.
“Shakira and Pique are good friends of Mikitani and they organised a dinner.
“We met there and we spoke about the future and Rakuten’s interest – Pique helped us a lot here.
“Gerard is one of us so the agreement is good to FCB. Gerard knew many steps but not all of them!”
Pique’s grandfather, Amador Bernabeu, is a former vice-president of Barcelona and it seems he has a similar entrepreneurial spirit.
The announcement of the new sponsorship deal comes as the club is set to begin work in 2018 on an extensive renovation of their Camp Nou home that will see the capacity of Europe’s biggest stadium extended to 105,000 and an open facade to allow views across the city.
A budget of 420 million euros has been estimated for the project that will be financed in large part by proceeds from sponsorship.
