FC Barcelona with a curious sponsorship plan – a break with jersey tradition is imminent

Soccer International

Not long ago, FC Barcelona was considered the last bulwark against the increasing conversion of football shirts into billboards. Twelve years ago, when rivals like Real Madrid or Manchester United had been playing with chest sponsors like Emirates or Aon for years, Barca only allowed the non-profit organization Unicef ​​to be at the front of their jersey.

In 2011, FC Barcelona still had Unicef ​​as shirt sponsor.null / imago images

But those times are long forgotten. In the meantime, FC Barcelona has slipped deeper and deeper into the debt quagmire and was forced to throw its ideals overboard.

For years after the contract with Unicef ​​expired, Barca advertised first for the Qatari airline Qatar Airways, then for the Japanese internet company Rakuten.

Spotify deal brought in millions for Barca

The logo of the Swedish music streamer Spotify is now prominently displayed on the jersey. He also bought the naming rights to the Barcelona stadium. All of this cost Spotify over $300 million. Overall, Barca is becoming a mountain of debt According to media reports estimated at 1.5 billion euros.

Because there was no sporting success recently and FC Barcelona continued to sign players for many millions of euros, the Catalans are still looking for ways to get fresh money. And as they do so, they become increasingly creative.

Because there is still one untouched spot on the Barcelona shirt that has never been covered by a sponsor: the shorts.

So far, Barca have never marketed the shorts of their kits – even though it’s allowed by Spanish league regulations. Other Spanish clubs like RCD Mallorca and city rivals Espanyol Barcelona are already leading the way. Barca are also now considering breaking with this novelty.

Like the Spanish newspaper “Mundo Deportivo” reported, the Catalans are also said to be looking into the possibility of putting a possible new sponsor on the shorts in their search for fresh money.

Philips is seen as a possible next partner for Barca

A potential candidate for this would be the Dutch electronics group Philips. According to “Mundo Deportivo”, he is said to be in talks with FC Barcelona.

Philips could therefore also follow Barca’s previous sleeve sponsor Beko, with whom the Catalans worked until 2021. The players are currently running up their sleeves without a sponsor.