According to the Euromericas Sport Marketing, Qatar Airways has made what has to be a world record offer to Barcelona for the naming rights of the Camp Nou.
AS Sport carried the story that the airline has offered Barcelona an unbelievable €350 million for a 30-year deal. That is an increase from a previous offer that was “only” €250 million for 50 years.
Qatar Airways already sponsors the club’s shirt and have their name etched into the seats of the Gol Sur stand in the Camp Nou. But they obviously want an even closer relationship with one of Europe’s biggest teams.
Barcelona are reported to be considering the offer, how could they not! If the deal goes through Barcelona would use the funds to increase the capacity of the Camp Nou to 120,000 spectators, a project that was expected to cost around €500 million. With one check from Qatar Airways, those construction costs are almost paid before construction begins.
The match day revenue and TV revenue for many of the top clubs in Europe is similar. The difference with Financial Fair Play is that the clubs that can generate the most commercial revenue will be able to buy the best players. If this deal with Barcelona goes through, I can see other iconic grounds like the Santiago Bernabéu, San Siro and Anfield have their naming rights sold as it will be extremely difficult for owners to turn down offers of this magnitude.