After 5 games played, Barcelona sits second in the table and their bitter rivals Real Madrid tied for fifth. Given their resources, this could be considered a slow start as both teams have seen some disappointing results. However, this past week both seemed to show their true form and flex their muscle as both outplayed their opponents with lopsided scores. Barcelona thrashed a seemingly strong Athletico Madrid 5-0, while Madrid topped newly promoted Rayo Vallecano 6-2. Behind these scores, the disparity between the top teams and bottom teams is becoming more and more evident.
Over the weekend, Barcelona's socios approved the deal with Qatar Sports Investment, which will see Barcelona receive 171 million euros in the next five years. Although a controversial source of revenue, the socios approved the deal with a majority as 697 responded yes, while only 76 responded no. When compared with other teams around La Liga, excluding Real Madrid, this sponsorship dwarfs all others. At the beginning of the season several teams lacked shirt sponsors, and even to this point both Barcelona's and Real Madrid's recent opponents, Athletico Madrid and Rayo Vallecano, still lack kit sponsors. If this trend remains we will only see the gap between the "top two" and the rest of La Liga grow. For the sake of the league, both competitively and financially, these remaining teams need to find shirt sponsors. However, should teams like Athletico Madrid settle with sponsorship deals that are under par or should they risk not getting any sponsor waiting for one that meets their financial demand? This fine line can see these teams lose millions in sponsors which only expands the margin between the top two and the rest of the league.
Sources: http://www.totalbarca.com/2011/news/members-accept-the-qatar-sports-investment-deal/ ; http://karllusbec.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/barca-qatar-foundation.jpg?w=378
I just read an article that Atletico is close to signing a shirt sponsorship deal with Volkswagen. It would be for approximately 6 million euros, which seems like a lot until you compare it to Barca's deal which is close to 35 million euros per year! The article notes that other clubs in La Liga, such as Valencia, Villarreal and Sevilla still do not have shirt sponsors. The gap between Real/Barca and the rest of La Liga continues to grow.
ReplyDeleteAfter going to RCD Espanyol, we learned that they have a deal in place with Cancun, which gives them 1.5 million euros a season for three seasons. This seems very low when compared with some of the higher ranked teams.
ReplyDeleteIt definitely does seem low, but at the same time, it's better than the 0.0 million euros per season they were receiving before. Especially in rough economic times, finding reasonably-valued shirt sponsors for the non-elite teams is a very difficult thing to do.
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