A lot of clubs might presume that their brand name is strong enough to ensure the sponsors will always come running no matter what, but that could change in the current financial climate.
Barcelona are in a financial mess just now, to the point that Football-Espana indicated that there are genuine bankruptcy fears as they desperately try to get the players to take a pay cut.
The issues keep coming after Sport looked at the situation with the €55m a year sponsorship deal they currently have with Rakuten, and it’s believed that there’s no way they will pay that much again.
They point out that when they first agreed the deal they were associated with a dominant Barca side that featured global icons like Neymar and Lionel Messi, but that will be very different if Messi goes next summer.
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The Barcelona brand may still be attractive to some but the reality is that the team could be nothing compared to the recent past, and it’s just going to result in even more financial issues for the club.
It’s also suggested that their €19m a year deal with Beko is due next year while the Rakuten deal is up in 2022, and neither is expected to be as lucrative next time round.
There are plenty of variables here so there’s a chance a new president could appoint an exciting manager who gets Messi to stay and builds a dominant team again, but that does look unlikely when you look at their current situation.