FC Barcelona to Decide about Record-breaking Qatar Airways Shirt Sponsorship Deal at Extraordinary General Assembly
FC Barcelona's board will present an 'irresistible' offer from Qatar Airways at the club's general assembly later this month, Mundo Deportivo reports.
Update: FC Barcelona has announced that the decision about the new shirt sponsor will only be made at an additional extraordinary general assembly, which could take place in early 2016.
The current FC Barcelona Qatar Airways deal is up after the current season and a quick decision is required in order to allow Nike to start producing the new Barcelona 16-17 Kits, the report states.
Barcelona to Extend Qatar Airways Shirt Sponsorship
The Qatar Airways logo is set to stay on Barcelona's kit for many years to come.
Qatar Airways' offer is said to even exceed the €60m / year figure reported ahead of this summer's FC Barcelona presidential elections. The new Barcelona Qatar Airways jersey sponsorship deal is valued at around €70m / year, more than doubling the current contract between the Champions League winner and the Qatari airline (€155m over five years).
Highest-valued Sponsorship Deals in European football
| Club | Sponsor | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Barcelona (new) | Qatar Airways | £51m (€70m) |
| Manchester United | Chevrolet | £47m |
| Chelsea | Yokohama Rubber | £40m |
| Arsenal | Emirates | £30m |
| Liverpool | Standard Chartered | £30m |
| Bayern Munich | Deutsche Telekom | £23.6m (€32m) |
| Barcelona (current) | Qatar Airways | £23.4m (€31.8m) |
| Real Madrid | Emirates | £22m (€30m) |
The new agreement between FC Barcelona and Qatar Airways would even top Manchester United's $559 million seven-year Chevrolet sponsorship deal, as Barcelona president Bartomeu hopes to convince the club members to ratify the agreement this month.
Following the model of Liverpool and Manchester United, the new contract will only contain the Barcelona Match Kits, with an additional contract to be signed to cover the Barcelona Training Jerseys from 2016-17.
Mundo Deportivo also reports that the club considered other offers including one from Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten, but that none came close to what Qatar Airways is offering.
Is €70 million a year a fair price for the Barcelona Shirt? Let us know in the comments below, and check out the first info on the new Barcelona 2016-2017 Home and Away Kits.
