Spotify Technology SA, the music streaming service, has agreed to have its name emblazoned on FC Barcelona’s uniforms and stadium.
According to the terms of the long-term agreement, Barcelona’s stadium will be renamed Spotify Camp Nou in July. Spotify’s logo will appear on players’ shirts for the next four years, beginning with the 2022-23 season, according to a statement from the company. Spotify stated that the sponsorship would also be used to promote musical artists.
Even though this is the first time the Spanish club has sold the naming rights to its stadium, large corporations have long paid to have their names emblazoned on sporting venues in order to boost their business and benefit from the positive associations fans have with their favorite teams. The terms were not disclosed by the parties. According to the Barcelona-based newspaper La Vanguardia, the deal is worth 280 million euros ($307 million), making it one of the most expensive sponsorship deals in the world.
Barcelona, which is owned by its members, requires all financial assistance it can get. Despite being one of the world’s most decorated soccer clubs, it lost 481 million euros last year. It discovers a company led by a soccer fanatic in Spotify. Daniel Ek, co-founder and CEO of Spotify, has expressed interest in purchasing Arsenal FC, one of the top teams in the United Kingdom.
In October, the members of the cash-strapped club voted in favor of raising additional funds to refurbish its stadium as part of a larger project to shore up the club’s battered finances. Soaring debt and limited revenue as a result of the coronavirus pandemic forced Barcelona to let go of its most iconic player, Lionel Messi, who signed with European rival Paris Saint-Germain last year.
The club is the only one in Spain with negative squad spending limits. On Monday, the top national competition LaLiga announced new salary budget caps for clubs, with Barcelona’s being set at a negative 144 million euros. The club will only be able to sign new players if it cuts its spending, either by lowering the wages of the current squad or by increasing income or cutting expenses.
Barcelona didn’t start advertising on its jerseys until 2006, decades after most other clubs. And the first one it featured was UNICEF, which it did for free as a way of signaling that it was doing so for a good cause rather than for money.
