Rakuten, Japanese e-commerce and Internet company, have been announced as the new sponsor for Barcelona’s first team shirt, replacing Qatar Airways.
The deal is worth at least €220m, and is a huge step in Rakuten’s desire to go global. Rakuten will be FC Barcelona’s first Global Innovation and Entertainment Partner.
Barcelona announced that that they have signed a four-year deal with Rakuten worth €55m annually with the option to extend for a fifth year.
Josep Maria Bartomeu, president of FC Barcelona, said the Rakuten deal puts the club “at the forefront of sports club sponsorships, which have always been an objective for the current board”, and will help the club “achieve its goal of being a reference point worldwide”.
Hiroshi Mikitani, Chairman and CEO of Rakuten Inc added, “This partnership opportunity is set to power our global brand strategy and, more importantly, as the Global Innovation and Entertainment Partner, we are looking to bring the collective power of our brands like Viber, Wuaki, Ebates, Kobo, PriceMinister to build a cool innovation framework that will deliver innovative solutions and services to fans, members and players”
“I am very excited about joining the Barça community as I have personally followed the team for decades and have long admired their unique playing style and professionalism, their commitment to success and their culture of nurturing young talent – all values we share at Rakuten”.
The Rakuten deal is one of the largest shirt deals in history.
SOURCE: ISportsconnect
