Barcelona: Rakuten turn out to be better sponsors than Qatar Airways

Rakuten have outdone Qatar Airways in their first season as Barcelona sponsor

When the Barcelona board approved Japanese corporation Rakuten as shirt sponsors till the 2021/22 season, it was surprising. The club had been known for not having a shirt sponsor, and went after high-profile ones when it did decide to take the plunge.

Barça’s first paid shirt sponsors were Qatar Foundation, a semi-private foundation involved in education, science, and cultural development in the oil-rich nation. It was a 2-year deal where the foundation would pay around €23 million per season.

After Qatar Foundation, their national airline Qatar Airways took over as shirt-sponsor in 2013, in a 4-year deal. They would pay about €32 million a season. But Rakuten agreed to pay a mammoth €55 million per season, until 2021.

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This was been reflected in the club’s financial performance last season. Barcelona’s commercial earnings were €264 million in Qatar Airways’ last season as sponsor, and shot up to €305 million the following season, with a dramatic hike of €41 million, or 6%.

This, in turn, led to the record revenue collected by the club last season. If Rakuten honour their partnership till the end of the contract, Barça’s goal to reach €1 billion in seasonal revenue will be completed far faster than anticipated.

So, while Rakuten are not as high-profile as the club’s previous shirt sponsors, they could join the big league holding hands with Barcelona. The club should keep all avenues open for after 2021, but Rakuten are highly likely to return as shirt sponsors.

Companies like Amazon among others have been linked with inking a deal with Barça in the past and could do so when the Rakuten deal ends. But for now, Rakuten are doing very well as shirt sponsors and have helped improved the club’s economic status.