The position of FC Barcelona in the departure of Messi has been to charge against LaLiga regulations regarding salary limits, which oblige clubs to maintain a coherent economic position. They cannot put more into wages than their recent balance sheets allow barbara desoer email address, despite what they are capable of generating. LaLiga’s strategy in this regard has been clear for years and seeks to contain the deficit of the clubs. But the main affected in Messi’s departure is FC Barcelona itself, which has several important open fronts such as the negotiation of the main sponsorship on the shirt, estimated at 74 million euros per season, or the net debt of more than 1,000 million that accumulates.
“The failure of the agreement between FC Barcelona and Messi affects all facets of the club and also of LaLiga: from sponsorships or ticketing to brand equity”, explains to Reason.Why Carlos Canto, CEO of SPSG Consulting and expert in sports marketing, who places the impact beyond sports. “In some countries, FC Barcelona is the city’s main reference, along with Gaudi’s architecture and the memory effect of the 1992 Olympic Games. But to understand the significance of the brand, there are some students or visitors that they use “Barça” as a diminutive to refer to Barcelona ”, he points out as a result of his experience working on international projects in 26 countries.
So much so that Barcelona itself will be harmed by the frustrated agreement between FC Barcelona. “According to different studies, 6% of the tourism generated in the city of Barcelona was generated through FC Barcelona and that generates 1.2% of GDP. Obviously, if you have the best player in the world, then there is a greater propensity to visit the city, ”says Canto, who believes that Messi’s departure could have a short-term tourist impact, although as in all considerations and sections, the performance FC Barcelona sports team, if it is capable of winning titles, the effects could be softened.
The loss of Messi is especially sensitive in terms of sponsorship. The exit comes in the middle of the negotiation for the sponsorship of the FC Barcelona shirt, one of the most important contributions for the club. Currently, Rakuten is the main partner, occupying the front of the elastic Blaugrana, for which it paid 30 million euros more variable last year, reducing the figure of 55 million that it paid before the pandemic.
The intention of the Barça entity is to extend its commitment to Rakuten beyond 2022, when this contract expires, but the controversy starring Antoine Griezmann along with Ousmane Démbéle, put this operation in check. The case exploded due to a leaked video of the two FC Barcelona players in which they appeared laughing at an employee of a hotel in Japan, where the Barça club did the preseason in 2019. As a result of this incident, Griezmann also ceased to be an ambassador trademark of Konami, the video game company with which he had just signed a major contract. Since this incident broke out, there has been no further news about the renewal or signing of a new agreement.
Even more important is the contribution of Nike, with which the club has an agreement until 2026 for a fixed annual price of 105 million. Curiously, Adidas is the brand that represents Leo Messi and other top-level European clubs such as Manchester United, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Juventus. The economic armor that is the FC Barcelona shirt is completed with another 19 million annually that Beko pays for appearing on the sleeve socialposts.
