Barcelona president Joan Laporta’s advisor, Enric Masip, has revealed important financial details surrounding the club’s recent kit deal with Nike, offering a rare behind-the-scenes look at one of the most critical commercial partnerships in Barça history.
Speaking on La Posesion (h/t SPORT), Masip confirmed that the Catalan giants signed a renewed agreement with Nike in November 2023, extending their relationship until 2038.
How Laporta turned things around
Under the leadership of Laporta, the club managed to completely transform the previous, poorly structured deal signed during Josep Maria Bartomeu’s presidency.
“The club had a contract with Nike worth €40 million, which dropped to €33 million due to a poorly constructed bonus clause under Josep Maria Bartomeu,” Masip revealed.
“Then we were offered a new deal of €66 million per season. If we had signed that, Barcelona would have been allowed to operate under the 1:1 financial rule, which would ease spending limitations.”
However, Laporta turned it down, Masip explained, because “he wanted Barça to have the highest-paid shirt deal in the world.”
Joan Laporta did what he does best. (Photo by Linnea Rheborg/Getty Images)
The club president was well aware that Real Madrid were earning in the region of €90–95 million annually, and anything below that was deemed unacceptable.
The intervention of Darren Dein
That’s when Darren Dein, a known figure in European football and agent circles, entered the picture. According to Masip, Dein played a decisive role in unlocking a far superior contract.
With his intervention, facilitated in part by his connection to Spotify, who sit on Nike’s board, the value of the deal skyrocketed to €122 million per season.
This figure includes a €58 million advance that Barcelona received upon signing the contract. “The person who unblocked the situation was Darren Dein,” said Masip.
“They [Nike] had been with us since 1996 and didn’t want to go over €66 million. But thanks to Dein, we went from €66 million to €122 million. So his commission is well paid.”
The final agreement means that Barcelona now have the highest-earning kit deal in world football, surpassing Real Madrid, Manchester United, and other elite clubs.
It also marks a significant commercial win for Joan Laporta’s administration in the middle of a very delicate financial period.