Barcelona & Qatar Foundation agree £125m shirt deal

Barcelona have ended their 111-year history of refusing commercial shirt sponsorship by signing a record £125m deal with the Qatar Foundation.
The Catalan giants have paid to carry the Unicef logo for the last five years and the children's charity will share shirt space with the new sponsors.
Barcelona have a sizeable debt but now claim to be "the undisputed brand leader in world football".
The deal will be worth £25m a year from next season through until 2016.
In July, an audit revealed Barcelona's debt to be £369.5m after a loss of more than £64.36m in the 2009/10 season.
The new sponsorship arrangement could free up some transfer funds for coach Pep Guardiola - who worked as an ambassador for Qatar's successful bid to host the 2022 World Cup.
The Qatar Foundation is a non-profit organisation concerned primarily with education projects in the Middle East.
It is chaired by Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned, the wife of the Emir, who was central to Qatar's final World Cup bid last week.
Senior club executives said the deal was a "remarkable milestone because it represents a record level of revenue for a football club and has more value still in the current economic climate".
Manchester United and Real Madrid both earn a little over £20m a year for their rights, while Bayern Munich make closer to £23m.
Marketing experts will seek to find a way for both logos to be displayed on the Barcelona shirts, although if that is not possible the Unicef name will take priority.

The Stig wrote:Mean bastards making a non-profit organisation pay for shirt sponsorship

The Catalan giants have paid to carry the Unicef logo

The Qatar Foundation is a non-profit organisation concerned primarily with education projects in the Middle East.

The Stig wrote:

The Qatar Foundation is a non-profit organisation concerned primarily with education projects in the Middle East.

Mal wrote:Why would a non-profit organisation pay £125 to advertise?

Weird.

Sean CFC wrote:Damn Qataries..

That's all I have to say.

The Stig wrote:Mean bastards making a non-profit organisation pay for shirt sponsorship

Bogdan wrote:They needed the money, I heard Barca are in massive debt.

The Stig wrote:So you think it's OK they let a charity pay them for sponsorship instead of the other way around like they did with UNICEF?

NZG wrote:it wouldn't be a big deal if it was someone other than barca. I understand why Barcelona took the deal but i am really disappointed, Wasn't Barcelona meant to be better than the other clubs? The one club that was more than just a club?

Yet as i said before i understand why Barcelona took the deal and if i was Barcelona supporter i would be fuming over this. There goes a big part of Barcelona history.

ahlycotc wrote:

NZG wrote:it wouldn't be a big deal if it was someone other than barca. I understand why Barcelona took the deal but i am really disappointed, Wasn't Barcelona meant to be better than the other clubs? The one club that was more than just a club?

Yet as i said before i understand why Barcelona took the deal and if i was Barcelona supporter i would be fuming over this. There goes a big part of Barcelona history.

That bullshit. Just because their motto says "Més que un club", everyone places a halo over Barca's logo. Accepting a financial deal that will uphold Barca's tradition of playing the type of football they do, entertaining their fans, and winning competitions doesn't make them less than what they stand for. Barca wouldn't be doing their motto any good if they had debts exceeding 50% of their net worth.

NZG wrote:

ahlycotc wrote:

NZG wrote:it wouldn't be a big deal if it was someone other than barca. I understand why Barcelona took the deal but i am really disappointed, Wasn't Barcelona meant to be better than the other clubs? The one club that was more than just a club?

Yet as i said before i understand why Barcelona took the deal and if i was Barcelona supporter i would be fuming over this. There goes a big part of Barcelona history.

That bullshit. Just because their motto says "Més que un club", everyone places a halo over Barca's logo. Accepting a financial deal that will uphold Barca's tradition of playing the type of football they do, entertaining their fans, and winning competitions doesn't make them less than what they stand for. Barca wouldn't be doing their motto any good if they had debts exceeding 50% of their net worth.

An identifier for Athletic is the whole they only play players with direct Basque ancestry or with no Basque ancestry but formed in Basque clubs. Barcelona has many identifiers but an important one is the UNICEF logo. While i am not saying that Barcelona having a paying sponsor on their shirts is like Athletic playing Wayne Rooney, You have to realize that Barcelona are ripping one of their main identifiers away just because someone flashed a large amount of cash in front of their faces.

Barcelona pay a whole lot of wages if i am not mistaken. The players seem to love the club and i am sure they could of asked to lower the wages. Barcelona could of also not payed 40 million euros for villa.

NZG wrote: i should of phrased it as the idea behind UNICEF being on the logo as an identifier. "The club which doesn't need a proper sponsor" It isn't about UNICEF directly, It is about the whole Barcelona having a paying sponsor on the shirt. As i said before, Barcelona taking the deal is basically like them ripping part of their history out. This to me also shows how football is all about the money nowadays.

Sean CFC wrote:Tbh Barca brings it on themselves, with their bullshit holier than thou attitude.