BARCELONA: Spanish champions Barcelona are in advanced talks with Catalan pharmaceuticals company Grifols over a naming rights deal for their Nou Camp stadium.
The financial terms of the proposed agreement have not been disclosed, reports have long suggested that the club would be prepared to sell the rights for close to €20m-per-year.
Over a 20-year period, such a deal would raise €400m, a crucial figure as the club aim to cover the costs of Espai Barca, their €600m renovation project, which will see the iconic arena’s capacity increased to 105,000, while also constructing a new basketball arena on-site for the club’s basketball team.
In 2017, Grifols denied interest in any Nou Camp arrangement but a prospective agreement has resurfaced among local media.
A statement read: ‘Grifols would like to make it clear that the rumours circulating regarding a possible sponsorship and stadium naming deal between FC Barcelona and the company are entirely unfounded. The company is not considering any sponsorship deal of this kind.’
In October, Spanish broadcast company and major sports rights holder Mediapro had a €300 million bid for the venue’s naming rights rejected, according to the agency’s Founder and Chief Executive.
Jaume Roures claimed in an interview with Spanish radio station Cadena Cope that a potential deal – to be paid over a 20-year period – had been discussed.
However, the talks between Mediapro and Barcelona broke down over a demand from the LaLiga reigning champions that Mediapro were to withdraw a lawsuit filed against Sandro Rosell, the club’s former President.
The action, which had been made in 2016, related to a complaint of espionage against Rosell, who stood as Barcelona’s president between 2010 and 2014.
Roures said: “We had negotiations with the club for a couple of months. There were a few meetings with this objective, but these broke down all of a sudden, and this requirement that was out of place appeared.”
In July, Barcelona appointed American financial services company Goldman Sachs to advise them in their mission to redevelop the ground.
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