Doha: FC Barcelona’s decision to end their major jersey sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways has forced the 2022 World Cup host nation’s national airline to rethink on remaining associated with Spanish giants only as official airline.
Barcelona last month got Japanese online retailer Rakuten, reportedly worth €55 million euros ($59 million, AED 216,700,000), putting an end to a deal that started in 2013.
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker, who was present to unveil the trophy for the friendly between Barcelona and Al Ahli Saudi FC on Monday, said it was ‘unfortunate’ to lose the deal to a brand which had very little recognition compared to theirs.
Rakuten’s four-year contract also comes with a bonus of €1.5 million per year if the club wins the La Liga and €5 million if they win the Champions League while Qatar Airways were reportedly paying a total of €35 million.
“We lost the FC Barcelona deal to a Japanese company for next four years. It is unfortunate that other brand was selected ignoring our brand which is so strong and recognised all over the world,” said Al Baker, adding that they will be looking at other opportunities despite the setback.
There were reports that Barca were looking for sponsorship change after their members had expressed their opposition to the club’s relationship with the Gulf state.
However, with the major sponsorship deal ending, Al Baker is in no mood on getting a raw deal for continuing on being the official airline for the team. “Our sponsorship will end towards June and we are now talking with FC Barcelona on being the official airline. So when you are official airline then we don’t want it by just name but also want some value against the sponsorship. We are negotiating with them and once it is concluded, we will let you know either it is going to be or no,” said Al Baker, who also revealed that since the fallout many clubs are keen on getting the airline on board.
“Many clubs want us to sponsor them because of the strong brand we are. However, we still have time in order to know which direction we are going to go,” said Al Baker who still sees sports as an important branding platform for his airline.
“Though we have not been very active, except with Barcelona, we have come to the conclusion of our sponsorship with Al Ahli Saudi Club. We will be looking at negotiating further with clubs that could give us very good reflection of our brand,” added Al Baker.
