Final week, Barcelona made a delayed journey to jap Asia to start out their pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea. Initially, it had been cancelled because the Catalans claimed that there had been “severe contract breaches” with regard to funds they have been owed, however ultimately, the matter was resolved.
And it was resolved, partly, with the assistance of a former major sponsor: Rakuten. The Japanese e-commerce firm, who featured on the Catalans’ shirt between 2017 and 2022, stepped in to assist Barcelona obtain the funds they’d initially agreed upon, which meant that Hansi Flick’s squad travelled final Friday for his or her fixture towards Vissel Kobe.
The connection between Barcelona and Rakuten ended amicably, and though there is no such thing as a likelihood for them to return to being the membership’s major sponsor as a result of presence of Spotify, MD have revealed that the Japanese firm are focused on getting again concerned with the reigning La Liga champions.
Joan Laporta opens up on assist acquired from Rakuten
And there’s each likelihood that an settlement may very well be struck, particularly as Barcelona are determined to proceed elevating funds of their efforts to ease their well-documented monetary woes. Membership president Joan Laporta just lately spoken on Rakuten, and the assistance they offered in guaranteeing that the Japan leg of their pre-season tour went forward.
“They confirmed their curiosity. Mikitani intervened decisively to have the ability to go to Japan on the tour. We predict he generally is a good collaborator.”
It will likely be fascinating to see whether or not there are any developments in relation to Barcelona and Rakuten within the coming weeks/months. There’s positively scope for one thing to occur, and the cash generated from a doable settlement will help with the membership’s plans to make a return to La Liga’s 1:1 rule as quickly as doable.