There have been many mixed emotions with Barcelona’s new sponsorship deal with the Qatar foundation. However, one name that has seemed to stand out the most is former Barcelona player and legend, Johan Cruyff. With the agreement now the biggest deal ever made in the history of strip sponsorship in football, Barcelona is expected to receive a total of €150m from the Qatar foundation.
However, Johan feels that this deal shouldn’t have been made and goes against the history of Barcelona.
Johan Cruyff went on to say the following:
“We are a unique club in the world; no one has kept their jersey intact throughout their history, yet have remained as competitive as they come. We have sold this uniqueness for about six per cent of our budget. I understand that we are currently losing more than we are earning. However, by selling the shirt it shows me that we are not being creative, and that we have become vulgar. If things are so bad, then we should cut out the deal we have with Unicef, and all the values it represents, because we pay them to carry the logo on our shirts.”
As the club looking to receive €30 million per season, it could definitely help Spanish champions with their situation. Currently losing more money than they are earning, the sponsorship will allow them to put a dent in their losses. However, taking into consideration the history of Barcelona, I can definitely see why Cruyff doesn’t agree with the acceptance with the Qatar foundation.
What’s your stance on all this? Do you think that Barcelona should have accepted the sponsorship deal? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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