Rakuten Group Co., Ltd., whose chief executive officer is Hiroshi Mikitani, is almost certain to end its main sponsorship contract with Barcelona this season. Among them, Barcelona may sign the highest sponsorship deal in football club history. The Spanish newspaper “Sport” reports on the 24th.
Barcelona has signed a sponsorship contract with Rakuten since the 2017/18 season, and until last season received a huge sponsorship fee of 55 million euros (about 7.2 billion yen) annually. Also, in November last year, the one-year contract extension option was exercised. As a result, the contract period between the two was extended by June 2022.
However, due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, if the official game is suspended for a while from March 2020, Barcelona will be hit by management, such as being forced to hold the event without spectators for a while immediately after the resumption. In addition, the sponsorship fee will be reduced to 30 million euros (about 3.9 billion yen) for the 2020/21 season. Furthermore, since it is reported that Mr. Hiroshi Mikitani is not satisfied with the treatment of Barcelona, it seems certain that the contract between the two will be terminated only this season.
It was also reported in October last year that Barcelona is asking sponsors to replace Rakuten Group to pay more than € 55 million a year.
Among them, according to the report of “Sport”, Barcelona received an offer to conclude a sponsorship contract for more than 80 million euros (about 10.3 billion yen) annually. The company name has not been revealed, but it is proposed to list the company name on uniforms and training wear as a condition.
In addition, Barcelona invited club OB Xavi Hernandez in the middle of this season. However, if he missed the final tournament in the UEFA Champions League (CL) group stage, he is still in fifth place, 15 points behind the leader Real Madrid in the league match.
