FC Barcelona Agree to a $235 Million USD Sponsorship Deal with Rakuten

FC Barcelona have announced a new four-year sponsorship deal with the Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten, which will replace Qatar Airways as the club’s shirt sponsor from the start of the 2017/18 season. Rakuten will be paying €220 million EUR (approximately $235.4 million USD) for four years, making it one of the biggest sponsorship deals in the sport. The agreement could be worth as much as $59 million USD per season if the club win La Liga and the Champions League, which would come close to Manchester United’s $80 million USD per season deal with Chevrolet, which was the most lucrative in Europe last season. Barca’s current Qatar Airways arrangement brings in €33.5million EUR (approximately $35.5 million USD). Will you be missing the old logo?

Barca didn’t have a shirt sponsor at all until 2006, when they struck a deal to allow UNICEF’s name to adorn their shirts. The United Nations programme didn’t pay for the privilege with the Catalan club instead donating €1.5 million EUR (approximately $1.6 million USD) per year to support programmes for children all over the world.

[OFFICIAL] Rakuten will be Barça’s new main global sponsor beginning with the 2017/18 season https://t.co/hOL1IeFsPm #FCBRakuten pic.twitter.com/us00HJQpG7

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 16, 2016