Barcelona ended a long period of speculation about the identity of its new shirt sponsor in November. Starting next summer, the Catalan side will feature Japanese retailer Rakuten on the front of its shirts in a deal worth at least €220M ($231M) over the next four years, with an option to extend for a fifth season. Rakuten will replace Barcelona's previous sponsor, Qatar Airways. The new partnership includes incentives that could raise the value of the deal to €61.5M ($64.5M) per year. Tokyo-based Rakuten is one of the world's largest e-commerce sites, with more than 50 million registered users. The company was founded in '97 and reported revenue of €6.2B ($6.6B) in its most recent financial year. Barcelona President Josep María Bartomeu said, "This agreement puts us at the forefront of sports club sponsorships, which have always been an objective for the current board of directors."
WANDA METROPOLITANO: Atlético Madrid unveiled Chinese property company Dalian Wanda Group as the title sponsor of its new stadium, Wanda Metropolitano, in another massive deal. Spain's top three clubs -- Atlético, Real Madrid and Barcelona -- are all on the verge of renovating or moving into a new stadium, and Atlético is the first to announce the name of its new home. The club will move from the Vicente Calderón, its home for the last 50 years, to the new 67,000-capacity ground located to the northeast of the Spanish capital in August. Wanda has had ties with the club since Jan. '15 when it acquired 20% of the club's shares. Club President Enrique Cerezo said, "I am honored to say we have reached an agreement with Wanda to name our new stadium. They are the best partners on our journey to keep working for a better future." Metropolitano is "a reference to the club's first real stadium," the Metropolitano, its home until it moved to the Calderón in '66. Marca reported the sponsorship will be worth a minimum of €100M ($105M) over 10 years.
