Barcelona receive huge financial boost after extending strategic relationship with Aramark
Barcelona are set to receive a mega financial boost after extending their strategic partnership with Aramark. The American company has become the official catering partner of Spotify Camp Nou.
The move will help Barca complete their €40 million due payment in the previous deal with German company Libero. It is also a mega boost to cover the financial levers activated by club president Joan Laporta. La Blaugrana also hope they can return to the 1:1 financial policy through the new deal. An official statement from the club read (via Barca's website):
"FC Barcelona and Aramark have announced a new strategic agreement through the current catering and hospitality provider for the Club becomes a Barca visiion shareholder (Bridgeburg Investment), as well as a new Espai Barca partner."
Aramark is a multi-national organization with a reach in 19 countries across the globe and boasting 248,000 employees. The company's headquarters are based in Philadelphia, USA.
The company has been present in Spain since 1992. It has been in charge of several sporting and other entertainment events across Spain for several years. A leader in the hospitality industry, Aramark will be the catering in charge of the future Spotify Camp Nou. It would also look to provide an enhanced experience to the fans year-round in the Espai Barca project. The Espai Barca project includes all of the club's current facilities.
Barcelona have reached the agreement through a 10 percent sale of the club's Barca vision project. The Barca vision initiative brings together web3, NFT, and Metaverse projects. The new deal would take care of Azulgrana's pending payments, meaning they could end the 2023-24 season without any losses. That would allow them to return to the 1:1 rule and potentially make new summer signings.
How will the deal with Aramark help Barcelona's transfer plans?
Barcelona have been linked with a move for Spain's Euro 2024 star Nico Williams. Barca have already reached an agreement with Dani Olmo and RB Leipzig regarding a summer move, as per reports.
As mentioned earlier, the recent Aramark deal will help Barcelona recover a mega sum from their previous deal with Libero. They still have $65.5 million to recover from the Libero deal, for which the club have taken legal action against the German company. Barca are negotiating on that matter and primary sponsors Spotify and Nike could become part of the Bridgeburg Investment soon.
Financial instability saw Barcelona lose their crown jewel Lionel Messi back in 2021. Since then, the club haven't been able to be competitive in the transfer market, which could change soon.