-
Sam Marsden, Barcelona correspondent
Barcelona members (socios) ratified the club’s new long-term agreement with Nike at an emergency assembly on Saturday, with president Joan Laporta claiming the deal is the biggest of its kind ever signed.
There were 419 votes in favour of the deal with the American corporation and 27 against, while 22 people abstained from voting.
Barça have not disclosed the full details of the agreement, with Laporta referring to a confidentiality clause, but sources told ESPN in November it is worth more than €100 million ($104.2m) annually before bonuses are taken into account.
The multi-year agreement with Nike will help to further alleviate the Catalan club’s financial problems.
“It’s the best financial agreement in the history of sport with a kit supplier,” Laporta said. “Nike understood the magnitude of Barça in the sporting world and the deal makes us stronger on all levels.
“It’s important for the club’s finances. The ratification of the deal aids our economic recovery and also helps us with LaLiga’s financial fair play limit.”
Figures for these types of deals are not always public in football, but Manchester United committed to a £1 billion ($1.1bn), 10-year partnership with Adidas in 2023.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid are reported to raise around €120m annually from their agreement with Adidas, although that was signed in 2019.
Laporta was met with concerns from members before the vote.
Some voiced a desire for more transparency around the numbers involved in the agreement, others complained about the prices of merchandise and there were questions about the involvement of Darren Dein.
Dein is an agent who helped broker the deal between Barça and Nike. He was also involved in Barça’s agreement with main sponsor Spotify in 2022 and Laporta defended his role in making the two deals happen.
Barça and Nike have worked together since 1998 and the new agreement helps consolidate the club’s finances as they attempt to get back within their LaLiga-imposed spending limit.
As of September, their cap was set at €426m, with Laporta saying recently they were in excess of that limit by around €60m.
Sources have told ESPN the Nike deal will not get Barça back within their spending limit yet and that it is still not enough to be able to register Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor for the second half of the season.
Olmo and Victor are both on temporary registrations which expire on Dec. 31, but Barça are pursuing various routes to be able to extend those registrations, including seeking a court order.
