Gerard Pique was the unlikely man behind Barcelona’s lucrative new shirt sponsorship deal.
Barcelona announced the deal which will see Japanese company Rakuten become the club’s main global partner and shirt sponsors from the 2017-18 season.
The agreement, which also sees Rakuten named “global innovation and entertainment partners”, will ensure the brand’s name appears on Barca matchday jerseys for an initial four years, with the option of a fifth.
“We are delighted with this fantastic partnership, which will see one of the world’s premier sporting clubs join forces with a truly global innovation company which can bring expertise in big data, communications and e-commerce to support Barca’s future successes,” club president Josep Maria Bartomeu said in the club’s statement confirming the deal on Wednesday.
The agreement with Rakuten – who already have involvement in football through their ownership of J-League outfit Vissel Kobe – will be ratified at an extraordinary meeting of club members “in the coming weeks”.
Club president Josep Maria Bartomeu revealed it was the Spain international who gave the club a foot through the door by arranging a meeting with his friend, Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani midway through 2015.
Bartomeu: "The deal began at a dinner hosted by Gerard Piqué at Hiroshi Mikitani's house in San Francisco in 2015." pic.twitter.com/B15aZLi54I
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 16, 2016
That meeting came in the weeks after Bartomeu had been re-elected Barca president, with Pique’s wife Shakira also involved in the planning.
Well over a year later, the Japanese company have now been confirmed as Barca’s new shirt sponsors from 2017-18 in a four-year deal worth an initial €55m-per-season, plus incentives – €5m for Champions League success and €1.5m for winning LaLiga.
“The deal began at a dinner hosted by Gerard Pique at Hiroshi Mikitani’s house in San Francisco in 2015,” revealed Bartomeu at an event announcing the deal.
“Shakira and Pique are good friends of Mikitani and they organised a dinner.
“We met there and we spoke about the future and Rakuten’s interest – Pique helped us a lot here.
“Gerard is one of us so the agreement is good to FCB. Gerard knew many steps but not all of them!”
I'm with my friend Mickey visiting the Rakuten's office. Great time in Tokyo with him and his family! pic.twitter.com/cF8pFiBl1l
— Gerard Piqué (@3gerardpique) June 27, 2015
Pique’s grandfather, Amador Bernabeu, is a former vice-president of Barcelona and it seems he has a similar entrepreneurial spirit.
Rakuten will replace Qatar Airways as shirt sponsors, with the new deal worth €55million per season.
That means the deal is worth just less than Manchester United’s £53m-per-year world-record agreement with Chevrolet.
The Qatar Foundation and then Qatar Airways have been involved in sponsorship of Barca for over six years and it has taken the club over a year longer than initially expected to find their replacement.
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