FC Barcelona and the sportswear manufacturer Nike have been partners since 1998. This partnership has had its ups and downs over time, but it has lasted – and will now be continued in the long term. Barca expects billions in revenue.
Spanish media unanimously report that FC Barcelona and Nike have agreed to continue their existing sponsorship relationship. Nothing has been made official yet, but Sport reports that Barca president Joan Laporta is said to have reported an “extensive agreement” with the US company at a board meeting on Friday regarding an extension of the contract that expires in 2028.
Negotiations with Nike are said to have dragged on for months, with the Catalans apparently entertaining the idea of parting ways with Nike and taking on a different manufacturer as a partner – or even marketing the jerseys themselves. But now everything remains the same – only on improved terms. According to rumors, the Blaugrana are also to receive an impressive renewal bonus of around ten million euros immediately.
The public broadcaster Radio Catalunya reports that the new contract will be valid until 2038 and has an incredible total volume of 1.7 billion euros. The income is expected to increase from this season onwards, with an increase of 48 million euros per year planned for the period up to 2028, and a further ten to twelve million euros per year are then to be added up to 2038. On average, the Catalans can expect an additional 120 million euros over the next 14 years. However, nothing has been signed yet, but that could change as early as next week.
Certainly a great blessing for the Catalans, who have been struggling with financial worries for years and have also had major problems recently due to the strict financial fair play requirements for registering players – among others, this summer affected Dani Olmo. It was only due to the departures of Ilkay Gündogan, Vitor Roque and Clement Lenglet, as well as the injury to Andreas Christensen (Achilles tendon), that registration was possible at all, as Barcelona were able to use a small amount of leeway in the salary cap.
Christensen’s imminent return could have meant that Dani Olmo would not be eligible to play from January 1 due to the loss of the special rule (in Spain, a club is allowed to reinvest up to 80 percent of the salary of a long-term injured player in new players). The Nike deal would likely make this problem go away, so the US sportswear manufacturer would be something of a knight in shining armor coming to the Catalans’ rescue. But: an official confirmation of the deal is still pending.
