Last week, Barcelona made a delayed trip to eastern Asia to start their pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea. Initially, it had been cancelled as the Catalans claimed that there had been “serious contract breaches” in regards to payments they were owed, but in the end, the matter was resolved.
And it was resolved, in part, with the help of a former main sponsor: Rakuten. The Japanese e-commerce company, who featured on the Catalans’ shirt between 2017 and 2022, stepped in to help Barcelona receive the funds they had initially agreed upon, which meant that Hansi Flick’s squad travelled last Friday for their fixture against Vissel Kobe.
The relationship between Barcelona and Rakuten ended amicably, and although there is no chance for them to return to being the club’s main sponsor due to the presence of Spotify, MD have revealed that the Japanese company are interested in getting back involved with the reigning La Liga champions.
Joan Laporta opens up on help received from Rakuten
And there is every chance that an agreement could be struck, especially as Barcelona are desperate to continue raising funds in their efforts to ease their well-documented financial woes. Club president Joan Laporta recently spoken on Rakuten, and the help they provided in ensuring that the Japan leg of their pre-season tour went ahead.
“They showed their interest. Mikitani intervened decisively to be able to go to Japan on the tour. We think he can be a good collaborator.”
It will be interesting to see whether there are any developments in relation to Barcelona and Rakuten in the coming weeks/months. There is definitely scope for something to happen, and the money generated from a possible agreement can help with the club’s plans to make a return to La Liga’s 1:1 rule as soon as possible.
