Barcelona Signs Global Shirt Partner
La Liga champions FC Barcelona have announced one of the biggest sponsorship deals in world football, after confirming a deal with Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten.
The new deal will see Japan’s largest online retailer pay the club at least €220m over the next four years, as part of its strategy for further global expansion.
From the start of the 2017/18 season, its logo and branding will be placed on Barcelona’s playing shirts, replacing current sponsors Qatar Airways.
The partnership includes an option to extend into a fifth year, and will be worth significantly more to the La Liga club than the Qatar Airways agreement, with only Chevrolet’s sponsorship of Manchester United worth more.
The club began looking for a replacement for Qatar Airways almost two years ago, but ultimately signed a one-year extension this summer, after the original agreement expired in July.
Hiroshi Mikitani, chairman and CEO of Rakuten, said: “As FC Barcelona’s main global partner, Rakuten is set to power our global brand strategy and, as FCB’s first-ever global lnnovation and entertainment partner, we are looking to bring the collective power of our brands like Viber, Wuaki, Ebates, Kobo and PriceMinister to build an innovation framework that will deliver innovative solutions and services to fans, members and players.
“I am very excited about joining the Barça community as I have personally followed the team for decades and have long admired their unique playing style and professionalism, their commitment to success and their culture of nurturing young talent – all values we share at Rakuten.”
Josep Maria Bartomeu, president of FC Barcelona, added: “We are delighted with our agreement with Rakuten, a global brand in innovation whose experience and know-how in the fields of big data, communications and e-commerce will contribute to the future success of FC Barcelona. This agreement puts us at the forefront of sports club sponsorships, which have always been an objective for the current Board of Directors. We hope this partnership between Rakuten and FC Barcelona brings unparalleled sporting and commercial success, and helps the club achieve its goal of being a reference point worldwide.”
The deal follows the club’s ten-year renewal of its kit supply deal with Nike, set to net an additional $190m a year, over twice the value of Manchester United’s current world-record deal with adidas.
As part of the deal, Rakuten’s Viber, the global mobile messaging and calling app, will also become FC Barcelona’s official communications channel.
