Nike contract causes fractures in Barcelona boardroom due to uncomfortable questions

Barcelona announced a new sponsorship agreement with sportswear brand Nike around a month ago, but the deal figures of the deal have not been announced. Reports estimate the total value of the deal at around €1.7b, and it sees Nike’s contract extended from 2028 to 2038.

The secrecy around the contract has been questioned by rival groups, with the club stating that part of Nike’s confidentiality clauses they cannot go into more deal. However Radio Catalunya say that it is not just external suspicion that has arisen.

Their information is that Barcelona’s board were not in total agreement over the deal, and there was tension over it. In particular, President Joan Laporta and Vice-President of Marketing Juli Guiu did not leave things on the best of terms, after Guiu put a series of uncomfortable questions to Laporta.

During Laporta’s second term, Barcelona have seen remarkable turnover in the hierarchy, with approaching 40 senior directors and positions moving on in the past three years. Barcelona have announced a General Assembly for members to vote on the Nike deal this Saturday.