Kwasi Ayisi
Barcelona did not have a main sponsor on their famous striped shirts until 2006, when the club signed a five-year deal with Unicef. They were replaced by the Qatar Foundation and then current sponsor Qatar Airways in 2013/14.
The Blaugrana begun printing kits without a name front and centre, per Sport, with their current Qatar Airways deal set to expire at the end of the 2015/16 season.
A number of other companies are in the frame to take the prestigious spot, including Pepsi, but with no deal struck, production has started on plain Nike shirts, according to Sport‘s report.
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Manel Arroyo, one of the club’s vice presidents, told Catalunya Radio
Everything has been spoken about with Nike and they understand the situation. Barca sell the shirts, not any brands, so we’re aware what we’re working on and the situation we have on our hands. The decision is taken.
When the current shirts are all out of stock, the new shirts will appear in the shops, without a sponsor, for now.
There will be a sponsor. We are working on it, me and the commercial team. Everything is following the path it should. The only thing I can say is that to do our job well, we have to be discrete and silent regarding the negotiations.
