J. Cruyff Criticizes Sponsorship Deal With QF

Johan Cruyff critical of Barcelona's record sponsorship deal with the Qatar Foundation

Barcelona legend Johan Cruyff has expressed his disapproval at the club’s decision to agree a record sponsorship deal with the Qatar Foundation, for a record €30 million per season.

The arrangement represents the biggest ever deal in the history of strip sponsorship in football, and in total is expected to provide a total income stream of €150m over the term of the contract.

The deal will operate over and above the current arrangement with charity Unicef, but the Dutch maestro, in his weekly column El Periodico de Catalunya, believes that the deal was unnecessary, and goes against the history of the club’s fabled strip.

He remarked: “We are a unique club in the world, no one has kept their jersey intact throughout their history, yet have remained as competitive as they come.

“We have sold this uniqueness for about six per cent of our budget. I understand that we are currently losing more than we are earning. However, by selling the shirt it shows me that we are not being creative, and that we have become vulgar.

“If things are so bad, then we should cut out the deal we have with Unicef, and all the values it represents, because we pay them to carry the logo on our shirts."

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/88/spain/2010/12/13/2259115/barcelona-leg...