Barca show their true colours

Pauleta

The Sparrow wrote: »

First off, how can a non profit organisation afford 140m to sponsor a football club?

Exactly. What the sort of charity organization is that

PHB

Exactly. I've no problem with clubs having sponsors on their jerseys. Lets just realise that the reason Barca wanted a charity on their jersey was not some selfless act, it was purely designed to transition to a commerical sponsor.

noodler

Everyone else in the world acted normal for year whilst I acted especially nice.

When I reverted to simply being normal - people started making hateful threads about me.

Coillte_Bhoy

patmac wrote: »

I haven't strayed onto the Daily Mail website by mistake have I. Let's all hate the Russians and the Qataris because England didn't get the World Cup, build a bridge get over it.

Who mentioned Russia? And are we not allowed to be disgusted by the decsion to award Qatar the WC judging things on their own merits rather than being influenced by the jingoistic english media?? Some of us do have our own minds but you decided to lump us all in with the Daily Mail reading little englanders did you?

Coillte_Bhoy

PHB wrote: »

Exactly. I've no problem with clubs having sponsors on their jerseys. Lets just realise that the reason Barca wanted a charity on their jersey was not some selfless act, it was purely designed to transition to a commerical sponsor.

Actually no, let's not. You want to believe that? Go ahead....

SantryRed

PHB wrote: »

Exactly. I've no problem with clubs having sponsors on their jerseys. Lets just realise that the reason Barca wanted a charity on their jersey was not some selfless act, it was purely designed to transition to a commerical sponsor.

Have you got proof of that?

#15

noodler wrote: »

Everyone else in the world acted normal for year whilst I acted especially nice.

When I reverted to simply being normal - people started making hateful threads about me.

Shouldn't you have been proclaiming yourself 'more than a person' though?

Personally I don't see a problem with this move, I always ignored the holier-than-thou stuff emanating from some sections of the Nou Camp anyway. Tbh, all the big clubs are arrogant (although it comes across in different ways) so I fail to see why people pick on them for it.

whatawaster

PHB wrote: »

Exactly. I've no problem with clubs having sponsors on their jerseys. Lets just realise that the reason Barca wanted a charity on their jersey was not some selfless act, it was purely designed to transition to a commerical sponsor.

Hang on ... you actually believe that forgoing a sponsor for five years was a commercial move to make more money?

Pauleta

I think the fact they had Unicef on the jersey paved way for it but wasnt intentional. They and fans realised the sky wasnt gonna fall down if they had something on the jersey. They need to fund their obscene spending over the last few years somehow. Im sure Barca fans will moan for a few weeks then get used to it.

eZe^

Read this thread and got really angry at certain replies from people who are just unbelievably misinformed, but eventually I just relaxed and realised it's only the internet. :P :P

Firstly, people thinking Barca are 'more than a club' because of how they try to conduct themselves on and off the pitch are just misinformed. Barcelona are 'mes que un club' because during the fascist movement in Spain, the Catalan people were banned from displaying any ideals of the Catalan culture. The language was banned, and people were at times shot for speaking Catalan in the streets.

The Camp Nou was the only place in Catalunya where it was safe for Catalan's to congregate and practice their beliefs. For that reason the club was seem as the only real symbol of the Catalan people during Franco's regime. That's the reason why it's seen as 'more than a club'. It's nothing to do with Barca having delusions of grandeur and thinking they are the only pure angels in a sport that has become commercialised. If sky or any other outlet speak about the 'mes que un club' as anything other than what I wrote above then they are hugely misinformed.

Secondly, looking at the sponsorship deal as objectively as possible, I'm feeling very mixed. It would be naive for me to think that in the modern game where Barca are hundreds of millions of euro in debt that they can continue without one. So it's good that at least there is another financial outlet to help the club financially. The club is heavily sponsored as it is, you only have to go to the Camp Nou to see how much we have been from the likes of herbalife, audi, and estrella damm. It's just the nature of the sport right now. I just hope for the life of me that the Qatar money isn't from some dodgy source, they hardly have a sparkling liberalism and altruistic reputation.

Obviously I'm very proud of the club with the unicef deal. It's not just an advertising deal, they also donate large sums of money to the organisation every year. This deal also remains in place despite taking up the Qatar sponsorship. So it's hardly like they are dropping unicef on their ass while they money grab. Also, how dare some of you villify a team for donating to charity. At the end of the day, who gives a sh*t what the clubs intentions are when donating money to charity, the money is still going to help save lives, it's not like a euro from a crook is worth less than a euro from a saint. Serious moral high horses among some of yous.

I'm slightly gutted about adding the actual sponsor to the jersey. I loved the unsponsored jersey, it just looked classy. I got over the unicef jersey, as afterall it is only a good thing, not like a horrible beer company or something. However with two sponsors it is going to look absolutely atrocious. It'll be like a bad Ligue One team, there's even rumours of printing on the back of shorts. FFS like, I'll just have to stock up on jersey from the past 5 years. :P

Ideally the unicef sticker would be put on the sleeve, and just put the Qatar Foundation on the front. I'd be gutted if it ended up like this;



As the poster above said, it's something that Barca fans will be pissed off with for a few months, and eventually you get used to it. It's always the case. I'm a bit 50/50 on the situation, I know some people that will be distraught though. If Athletic Bilbao can get used to it though, we can too, just hope it isn't a monstrosity.







tl;dr version - Barca are super dooper good at footballz.

x in the city

The Sparrow wrote: »

So basically Barcelona are just like every other club and willing to take money from anywhere, no matter how morally dubious. Seems a bit of a coincidence that Pep whored the Qatar World Cup bid around and now they are being paid back with a massive shirt deal?

Few facts about Qatar:

According to U.S. Department of State's 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report, Qatar does not comply with minimum human trafficking standards, and has no anti-trafficking legislation.

Homosexuality is illegal

There are no laws in Qatar banning domestic violence

So much for the Unicef BS. More than a Club.:rolleyes:

and dont mention the stoning

I had to LOL at the quatar bloke holding up the wc trophy.

x in the city

MOG7 wrote: »

How exactly are they going to share space ont he Jersey with Unicef? Sad to see it happen as i loved the no sponsorship on the jersey or the Unicef. But saying that seeing the club contine is more important, Barca have a lot of Debt and something had to be done.

People need to get over the Qatar WC bid too, these things happen, the English media make it sound like all they did was put forward there bid and did nothing else to try get the games in England. England played friendlies, offered free hotels for the olympics and bought hand bags or something for some wives of Fifa members. Also i can't imagine how Pep saying a few good words about the Qatar WC would be worth Qatar giving them a deal worth £140 million.

they will whore the barca kit like like this soon :rolleyes:

Dolph Starbeam

eZe^ wrote: »

I'm slightly gutted about adding the actual sponsor to the jersey. I loved the unsponsored jersey, it just looked classy. I got over the unicef jersey, as afterall it is only a good thing, not like a horrible beer company or something. However with two sponsors it is going to look absolutely atrocious. It'll be like a bad Ligue One team, there's even rumours of printing on the back of shorts. FFS like, I'll just have to stock up on jersey from the past 5 years. :P

A ligue One jersey is exactly what i thought of when i read they will share sponsorship place with Unicef too, hopefully they can keep the jersey looking relativley normal, how the jersey will look is my main worry of the whole thing :pac:

dreamers75

eZe^ wrote: »

just hope it isn't a monstrosity.

Once its not that horrid you be fine (one on the right would get it tho)


Btw all this barca hate sucks taking away from my original barca hate i hatered them longerz

tolosenc

Damn, looks like they won't be crumbling under their debt so. We can only hope...

lordgoat

rarnes1 wrote: »

Akin to North Korea getting it?

What utter nonsense.

Yes it would be mildly better if north korea got it. Only mildly though. Great response though.

eagle eye

When a team plays the most beautiful football that you will see anywhere the haters have to move off the pitch and find something else to have a go at a club for. Its pathetic.

ironingbored

Actually quite disappointed with this development. I don't understand why it didn't go to a vote of the socios. Or maybe I do. I can't understand the Barca haters. Maybe they should take some history lessons.

Another interesting development is the emergence of Joan Laporta as a seriously strong political candidate espousing total independence for Catalunya.

On a side note, last night I was talking to a guy from Valencia. He doesn't speak Valenciano or very little because he finished school in 1976, the year after Franco died. It wasn't spoken in schools by decree or at home out of fear.

Dolph Starbeam

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=851327&sec=europe&cc=5739

Barcelona have confirmed a shirt sponsorship deal with Qatar Foundation worth €30 million a season until 2016.It will not affect the existing deal with Unicef, whereby Barca pay the international children's charity to carry its logo.

The agreement - which marks the first paid sponsor in Barca's history - will help to alleviate debts which, in July, stood at €442 million. The club lost €77 million last season.

They will earn €165 million across the course of the deal, with €15 million to be paid for the remainder of this season. It is said to be the biggest such deal in the history of football, with Manchester United and Liverpool - the nearest rivals - earning €23.6 million from their deals with AON and Standard Chartered this season.

Confirming the agreement at a press conference at Camp Nou on Friday, vice-president of finance Javier Faus said: "With this agreement, the FC Barcelona brand becomes the undisputed leader in football, ahead of its international competitors."

Dicussions over the placement of the Qatar Foundation logo will be held, but Unicef will retain priority placing.

The Qatar Foundation, founded in 1995, has set up projects focusing on education, scientific research and community development.

At least that is some good news, the jersey already looks a bit packed imo, will be interesting to see where the Qatar logo will go. It also says €15 million for the remainder of this season so does that mean the Qatar logo will be coming in straight away?

Here are some options for the new shirt i've found




Also looks like its not the 1st time ever in the club shistory, i never thought they had a shirt sponsor before.

Super Sidious

SHOCK HORROR

A football club is in need of additional funding during a time when their Club, Country and alot of the World are in financial difficulties.

They are obviously some evil club, who by taking on sponsorship of a charity were all along planning to get rid of the charity just to make a profit.

WRONG

The club unfortunately cannot compete financially with other clubs, in particular Madrid, who have an endless bankroll due to the Kings backing in Spain.

Barcelona spend most of their money on Wages to keep and reward the best players in the world at their club, and even then Messi is paid less than the likes of Yaya Toure(£200k), John Terry(£190k), Frank Lampard(£190k), Wayne Rooney(£185k), Ronaldo(€250k), compared to Messi who is the highest paid in Barca at €185k.

They are not removing Unicef, or casting them aside, considering that Unicef have been the first prominent sponsor of their jersey, in which Barca pay for the privilege has been absolutely huge to Unicef, considering Barca's success of resent years, as well as having the best player in the world.

Did Barca see them self being over 400 Million in debt in 2010? I doubt it.

Unfortunately as with the times in many countries, their isn't the same resources as 5-10 years ago, and with footballs currency ever increasing, it is necessary for probably the greatest club team ever to continue to be competitive.

I can understand people hating Barca, because jealousy and begrudgery are in alot of peoples nature, particularly posters on this thread. However to try and make Barca out to be a club with an evil 5-10 year plan to make as much profit as possible is a load of bs!

The club is owned by its supporters, its not owned by a fat American or billionaire sheik, looking to turn a profit or spend their vast wealth on real life Football Manager.

As eZe put, it is more than a club, but not for profit or for greed, but for a welcome relief for a area of Spain who were treated so badly under Franco, a similarity which no one here seems to notice, we too had GAA and Gaelic suppressed for many years, just like the Catalans experienced, and Barca was their only outlet during a difficult time.

At the end of the day, I am 100% certain that Barcelona as a club and World Leader in Football, have been dreading this day, that they need to bring on a sponsor, but financially they had no option.

At least they chose another organisation who have good intentions, whether their from a country which is still 20 years behind alot of the world in certain moral areas. Barca didn't pick a Bookmaker or Bank at the end of the day.

Can we all just appreciate the wonderful football and enjoyment these guys bring on a weekly basis, regardless of what club you support or what country your from, as we can all agree Football is the winner.

Pro. F

Lets break this down (and let me know if I've got this wrong somewhere):

Qatar has a very poor human rights record.
This supposedly altruistic foundation is run by the Qatari royal family (ie Qatar).
Barca's other shirt sponsor promotes human rights.

I find that hypocritical. Just because the Qatari organization do some good work, that doesn't make up for what they are a part of.

I don't know if the theory about using the Unicef logo as a staging ground for shirt sponsorship is true or not. It could be, or this could just be a coincidence.

And I don't hate Barca, I like them quite a lot actually. The claims of Barca hate on this thread are a retarded over reaction. The club is doing something hypocritical. Scrutinising and criticising it is normal and shouldn't be effected by how fantastic their football is.

Bodhisopha

Pro. F wrote: »

Lets break this down (and let me know if I've got this wrong somewhere):

Qatar has a very poor human rights record.
This supposedly altruistic foundation is run by the Qatari royal family (ie Qatar).
Barca's other shirt sponsor promotes human rights.

I find that hypocritical. Just because the Qatari organization do some good work, that doesn't make up for what they are a part of.

I don't know if the theory about using the Unicef logo as a staging ground for shirt sponsorship is true or not. It could be, or this could just be a coincidence.

And I don't hate Barca, I like them quite a lot actually. The claims of Barca hate on this thread are a retarded over reaction. The club is doing something hypocritical. Scrutinising and criticising it is normal and shouldn't be effected by how fantastic their football is.

They have been hypocritical since before this, i'm surprised nobody has brought this up.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/mar/15/bunyodkor-uzbekistan-rivaldo-craig-murray

Of course the Unicef deal was a PR exercise and a bloody good one at that.

I love Barca but i'm not blind to the fact that like most other clubs they are run by slimeballs.

Coillte_Bhoy

Bodhisopha wrote: »

They have been hypocritical since before this, i'm surprised nobody has brought this up.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/mar/15/bunyodkor-uzbekistan-rivaldo-craig-murray

Of course the Unicef deal was a PR exercise and a bloody good one at that.

I love Barca but i'm not blind to the fact that like most other clubs they are run by slimeballs.

Wasnt aware of that. Disgusted.

JPA

What a bitter and twisted thread.

Bodhisopha

Coillte_Bhoy wrote: »

Wasnt aware of that. Disgusted.

This article goes into much more detail. Barcelona are still contracted to play in Uzbekistan, i think.

http://www.uznews.net/news_single.php?lng=en&cid=31&sub=&nid=13688

fullstop

Why are you so bitter about it OP? All the Barca hate on here recently is laughable.

wandatowell

stovelid wrote: »

and a successful business

Pretty sure Barca have feck all money and are in huge debt

Paully D

They'd be mad not to take that given the talk about their finances.

CorkMan

I wonder will they have the Qatar logo on their asses, a la Sevilla.

Helix

wandatowell wrote: »

Pretty sure Barca have feck all money and are in huge debt

when youre a business it doesnt matter what your debt is, it matters what your long term profitability is, and barca are VERY MUCH long term profitable

theres not a bank in the world who wouldnt give them a loan

m@cc@

The Sparrow wrote: »

Few facts about Qatar:

According to U.S. Department of State's 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report, Qatar does not comply with minimum human trafficking standards, and has no anti-trafficking legislation.

Homosexuality is illegal

There are no laws in Qatar banning domestic violence

F**k me, are clubs supposed to take into account the sponsor's country as well as the party themselves?

Pro. F

JPA wrote: »

What a bitter and twisted thread.

Are you denying Barca's hypocrisy here?

m@cc@ wrote: »

F**k me, are clubs supposed to take into account the sponsor's country as well as the party themselves?

In this instance they are one and the same thing, so yes.

lordgoat

m@cc@ wrote: »

F**k me, are clubs supposed to take into account the sponsor's country as well as the party themselves?

Well when they are one in the same then yes. On one hand they are promoting unicef, and on the other they are supporting a regime that is in direct contrast to what unicef stand for - the qatari government.

I'd normally like to leave the politics out of football but in some cases you really can't. Imagine the message it would have sent if Barca had said no to the Qatari foundation.

Dolph Starbeam

lordgoat wrote: »

Well when they are one in the same then yes. On one hand they are promoting unicef, and on the other they are supporting a regime that is in direct contrast to what unicef stand for - the qatari government.

But they're not, they are supporting the Qatari Foundation, which by the look of things do a lot of good things in a country that is quiet a bit behind where we are in the west. Yes i know the Qatari foundation is funded by the Qatari royal family etc. but thats not who Barcelona are supporting. If anyone here was running FC Barcelona do you think you'd turn down an offer of £30 million a year when the club has debts of over £400 million.

Bodhisopha

If Unicef have a problem with it, they will request that their logo is removed from the Barcelona jersey.

Are they hypocrites if they don't?

I look forward to the "Unicef show their true colours" thread.

Pro. F

MOG7 wrote: »

But they're not, they are supporting the Qatari Foundation, which by the look of things do a lot of good things in a country that is quiet a bit behind where we are in the west. Yes i know the Qatari foundation is funded by the Qatari royal family etc. but thats not who Barcelona are supporting. If anyone here was running FC Barcelona do you think you'd turn down an offer of £30 million a year when the club has debts of over £400 million.

The Qatari Foundation was set up by, and is run and funded by, the Royal family. If Qatar really wants to do some good then they should stop doing harm first. The foundation is just a vehicle for promoting Qatar in a good light and it seems most of the work it actually does is for the benefit of Qatari nationals (it's the none nationals that suffer in Qatar because of the states' turning a blind eye to trafficking).

Barcelona are helping Qatar promote themselves for a cut of the money.

Bodhisopha wrote: »

If Unicef have a problem with it, they will request that their logo is removed from the Barcelona jersey.

Are they hypocrites if they don't?

I look forward to the "Unicef show their true colours" thread.

It's a good question. Personally I think the answer would be yes. UNICEF promoting the rights of children but happy to be associated with a state that abuses the rights of adults? Sounds like hypocrisy to me. I guess it's a big and complicated issue though.

I just want to point out that all of the above is based on the understanding that Qatar is a state with poor human rights. That's what I've understood from reading around. Maybe I'm wrong. If anybody has a different take on Qatar I would be interested.

gimmick

I would love to do a great post like Ezes, I would also love to say what I really wish, but I will settle on this



What a shít thread with some of the worst posts I have ever come across.

lordgoat

Pro. F wrote: »

The Qatari Foundation was set up by, and is run and funded by, the Royal family. If Qatar really wants to do some good then they should stop doing harm first. The foundation is just a vehicle for promoting Qatar in a good light and it seems most of the work it actually does is for the benefit of Qatari nationals (it's the none nationals that suffer in Qatar because of the states' turning a blind eye to trafficking).

Barcelona are helping Qatar promote themselves for a cut of the money.



It's a good question. Personally I think the answer would be yes. UNICEF promoting the rights of children but happy to be associated with a state that abuses the rights of adults? Sounds like hypocrisy to me. I guess it's a big and complicated issue though.

I just want to point out that all of the above is based on the understanding that Qatar is a state with poor human rights. That's what I've understood from reading around. Maybe I'm wrong. If anybody has a different take on Qatar I would be interested.

Cheers for the Pro. And Yep Qatar is definitely not a nice country. If anyones interested i'm certain amnesty will have something on their site about Qatar and more than likely will reference where the info comes from.

There's also wikipedia...

Pro. F

gimmick wrote: »

I would love to do a great post like Ezes, I would also love to say what I really wish, but I will settle on this



What a shít thread with some of the worst posts I have ever come across.

Yeah that really engaged with the argument there, well done.

Here's my response:

Your post is shít.

gimmick

^ Seriously, this thread is brutal. I would have expected an awful lot better from most. Some not so. The reason I did not engage in the "argument", is because its facking stupid.

Far as I can see, the problem is that a big club have taken a big sponsorship deal. Would folk be whinging as much if Manyoo or Liverpool or whoever did it? No. And if anyone brings up the "Mes Que" argument again....................

apoch632

gimmick wrote: »

^ Seriously, this thread is brutal. I would have expected an awful lot better from most. Some not so. The reason I did not engage in the "argument", is because its facking stupid.

Far as I can see, the problem is that a big club have taken a big sponsorship deal. Would folk be whinging as much if Manyoo or Liverpool or whoever did it? No. And if anyone brings up the "Mes Que" argument again....................

The Mes Que criticisim is quite valid imo.

Before it was something that was just said about Barca. But in recent years they have started marketing themselves with it. Its only in recent years they have started selling t-shirts with "Mes Que..." on it, putting it into the seats of the Camp Nou, putting it onto the shirts. Its become a mixture of a marketing gimmick http://shop.fcbarcelona.com/stores/barcelona/products/product_browse.aspx?cid=16403 and something that they use to lord it over others with.

If you try to hold yourself up as being better and above other clubs when you do something that doesn't fit in with that. (Sponsorship deals with Qatar are questionable imo) Its gonna draw a lot of criticism and quite rightly so.

and I say this as someone who has a great respect for what Barca has stood for over the years

Pro. F

gimmick wrote: »

^ Seriously, this thread is brutal. I would have expected an awful lot better from most. Some not so. The reason I did not engage in the "argument", is because its facking stupid.

Far as I can see, the problem is that a big club have taken a big sponsorship deal. Would folk be whinging as much if Manyoo or Liverpool or whoever did it? No. And if anyone brings up the "Mes Que" argument again....................

No that is not the problem.

gimmick

Ok

Bodhisopha

Current business dealings don't suddenly undo the meaning of a club motto that has been used for decades. What that motto means to fans of Barcelona, moreso Catalans goes far beyond a marketing slogan.

Of course it has been hijacked for PR reasons but that's just marketing, it doesn't undo the history of the club and what it means to its fans and if you think it does, then the motto never meant that much to you in the first place. Which is fine.

Mes que un marketing slogan.

dfx-

MOG7 wrote: »

Zubizarreta, Laudrup, Nadal (?), Stoichkov, Bakero, Ferrer, Koeman...early 90s

el rabitos

perhaps barca have just been giving everyone else a head start for the past century, now the gloves are off :pac:

Sir Gallagher

gimmick wrote: »

I would love to do a great post like Ezes, I would also love to say what I really wish, but I will settle on this



What a shít thread with some of the worst posts I have ever come across.

Pro. F wrote: »

Yeah that really engaged with the argument there, well done.

Here's my response:

Your post is shít.

The argument has been engaged fully and negated, now everybody is just having a jolly at the bitterness.

iregk

I have to ask the question though and yes it is off topic somewhat. Why the sudden hatred of Barca? I'm not a fan of them however I do enjoy sitting down and watching their spectacular brand of football. Easily the best, easiest on the eye in world football.

Why do people who claim to be football fans hate the club? As people have said the hatred has increased 10 fold since the mascre of madrid. Whats the problem?

reprazant

All the people moaning about Barcelona being sponsored by a Quatari charity, I presume you all feel as equally repugnant about Arsenal having their shirt AND stadium sponsored by a state company of Dubai?

I don't remember there being a thread on that when the deal was signed or since for that matter.

Pro. F

Sir Gallagher wrote: »

The argument has been engaged fully and negated, now everybody is just having a jolly at the bitterness.

No it hasn't.

Bodhisopha brought up a good point about UNICEF withdrawing their logo if they're unhappy but other than that most posters have just ignored the arguments or repeated the same stuff that's already been shown to be wrong.

This talk of bitterness is nonsense. I like Barca a lot, but that doesn't mean I can't criticise something that looks like hypocrisy.

reprazant wrote: »

All the people moaning about Barcelona being sponsored by a Quatari charity, I presume you all feel as equally repugnant about Arsenal having their shirt AND stadium sponsored by a state company of Dubai?

I don't remember there being a thread on that when the deal was signed or since for that matter.

There is a lot of stuff around that I don't like. If you want to start a thread about some morally dubious sponsors of some team I'll be interested. The interesting thing in this case, and it's an obvious difference if you manage to think about it for a second, is the hypocrisy of promoting UNICEF and Qatar at the same time on the same shirt. I would guess that the majority of big clubs do charity work while also having harmful organisations sponsoring them. It's still worth looking at Barca when it is being done so blatantly.

iregk wrote: »

I have to ask the question though and yes it is off topic somewhat. Why the sudden hatred of Barca? I'm not a fan of them however I do enjoy sitting down and watching their spectacular brand of football. Easily the best, easiest on the eye in world football.

Why do people who claim to be football fans hate the club? As people have said the hatred has increased 10 fold since the mascre of madrid. Whats the problem?

The supposed hatred of Barca is well over exaggerated. I, for one, like Barca and like seeing them beat Real. So you might want to re-assess your 10 fold increase in hatred that you think you've observed.