Polkadot vies for FC Barcelona shirt sponsorship

Spanish football giants FC Barcelona are due a new shirt sponsor, and the club have revealed competition among potential suitors is heating up as Polkadot enters the Rakuten replacement race.

The leading blockchain network’s bid is up against serious rivals including Spotify and wellness brand Vegan Nation.

Rakuten has sponsored the club since 2017, and seems content to end the current deal as the streaming service’s impressive lockdown growth slows into 2022.

Revealing the bidders, FC Barcelona explained that it was seeking a long-term sponsorship arrangement that spotlighted innovative business.

“[Polkadot is a] platform of exchange of crypto … that has entered innovations when allowing a high number of transactions by second,” said a club statement.

“The club have decided to take the things with patience to analyse in-depth each proposal in procures to reach the most profitable agreement on a long-term basis.”

Polkadot in calculated bid for Barcelona sponsor deal

With the likes of Alves and Pedri at the club, some of the biggest names in Spanish football could soon be advertising Polkadot at games around the world. This doesn’t come cheap, Barcelona are reportedly asking a whopping €75m for the sponsorship.

As costs run high, the bid from Polkadot can only be seen as a calculated play – with the network intent on luring in fresh retail investors as DOT clamours to regain ground in the top 10 cryptocurrencies (by market cap).

But it is also an attempt to replicate the prowess and success of big firms such as crypto.com and FTX, which have mainlined sports sponsorship marketing for the industry.

Read More: AS Monaco enters the world of fan tokens