Spanish football club Barcelona has reportedly rejected sponsorship bids from a host of crypto firms [which may involve Binance]. A few hours back, Spanish media house Sport brought to light the same.
Highlighting the reason, the football club and its president, Joan Laporta, turned down the offers from cryptocurrency exchanges and other companies, Sport noted,
“The lack of confidence in the sector and the lack of economic solidity of the proposals were two handicaps that held Barcelona back, with neither the board or commercial department open to negotiating.“
Even though Sport did not specifically pinpoint which companies were rejected, it’s worth recalling that Polkadot and Binance were both said to be bidding in January. Polkadot was expected to pay $110 million over five years, while Binance was eying a €70m deal [approximately $80 million].
Parallelly, Barça Universal, an independent outlet providing the latest news associated with the club reported Barcelona had outrightly rejected a €70M offer from a crypto company that intended to be one of the main sponsors of the club’s shirt. It cited that the club’s board thinks that deal would be “risky and unethical.”
Joining the €70M dot with the fact that the club is doesn’t necessarily have faith in the crypto sector, Binance, along with Polkadot, could be among the cryptocurrency sponsors rejected by the football club.
Spotify makes headway
The club’s deal with Rakuten expires by the end of this season. As per Shay Lugassi, the Chief Editor & Correspondent of Barca Times, the Japanese electronic commerce and the online retailing company offered €30-40M a season to continue remaining the main sponsor. In fact, they also assert that the club would not be able to bag better deals because of the departure of Messi from the club.
After various weighing down their options for months, the board has reportedly zeroed down Spotify, to sponsor the first team kit, the women’s kit, as well as the back of the training kit. They’re also set to get the stadium naming rights for Camp Nou. Per Reuters, the LaLiga side has agreed on a three-year deal with the streaming music platform worth €280 million [$320 million], evidently heftier than Rakuten’s offer.