Qatar Airways "has closed its doors to Barcelona to renew the sponsorship deal that expires June 30," according to Llorens & Giménez of AS. Until that date, Barcelona President Josep María Bartomeu and VP Manel Arroyo "have time to turn the situation around." It "will not be simple." The airline "is fed up with Barcelona's demands and club execs lost control of the operation when everything seemed to be agreed upon." Since '10, and through June this year, the team earns €33M per season from the shirt sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways. Two years ago, when Barcelona began thinking of renewing the contract, it took notice of ManU's deals with Chevrolet and adidas. Based on this, Barcelona "is now demanding more" (AS, 1/19). Giménez wrote in a separate piece "it could be a coincidence, or it could have been done intentionally," but on a banner congratulating Lionel Messi for winning the Ballon d'Or at the Camp Nou on Saturday, "there was no trace of Qatar Airways." It "could have been a coincidence, but these are rare, especially when multi-million dollar contracts are being negotiated." No one from Barcelona "is confirming this," but a banner honoring Messi with the player being seen from behind, with Estrella Damm and Unicef the only brands visible, "is considered a message to Qatar at a difficult moment for the relationship" between the club and the airline (AS, 1/20).
WEIGHING ALTERNATIVES?: MUNDO DEPORTIVO reported Barcelona is "considering three alternatives to Qatar Airways as shirt sponsor." Barcelona is reportedly looking at "three other routes" in case it cannot renew its deal with Qatar Airways. A "curious detail is that these three options are based on three different continents: North America, Europe and Asia." While the negotiations with Qatar remain stalled, the kit agreement with Nike is "much closer" to a renewal (MUNDO DEPORTIVO, 1/20).
SHARING THE WEALTH: In Madrid, Víctor Romero reported the solidarity of Spanish football, and its contribution of 1% of its TV revenue to other sports, "has had immediate consequences for other Spanish sports federations." Of the 67 organizations benefiting from the distribution of the revenue, 36 allocated that money to pay off debts, with Spain's Athletics Federation erasing its debt of €423,111 ($460,600) and the Spanish Swimming Federation wiping out its debt of €467,576 ($509,000) (MARCA, 1/20).
