A Decade of Barça Jerseys… If It Can Be Done
The club is all set to take the big leap as early as next season Laporta is only hesitant due to the possibility of a challenging lawsuit from Nike Countless discussions have ensued regarding the possibility of Barcelona terminating its agreement with Nike to align with another brand or produce its own Barça brand. Many speculate this move as a masterstroke by President Joan Laporta to extract more funds from the American multinational. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Laporta has spent months, many months, analyzing the situation and, above all, setting in motion the operations that would enable the Blaugrana to manufacture the kits in time and, most importantly, distribute them.
It has been done so meticulously that Laporta himself is utterly convinced it is the major strategic operation for the coming years. In other words, everything is ready for him to push the button and embark on this venture, which holds high economic hopes based on conducted studies.
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So why hasn’t the Barcelona president taken the plunge with this self-managed brand by BLM yet? Well, because Barcelona is considering various scenarios regarding Nike’s potential response if the contract, valid until 2028, is terminated. The club’s lawyers are working on it and believe there are enough grounds to terminate the relationship due to blatant contract breaches.
In fact, Laporta announced that the lawsuit has already been filed, but Barcelona is not entirely confident. Laporta would prefer a settled agreement with Nike, far from any legal dispute that could force them to provision financial amounts that would outweigh the presumed profits for this season. They are not willing to risk it if it’s not crystal clear. But Nike must also understand that the idea of the in-house brand is not mere bravado. In recent weeks, they have sent two of their top executives to Barcelona to try to salvage the agreement with Barça.
The final decision is imminent, and Joan Laporta will make it with his inner circle. There is a belief that profits could quadruple with the strategy the Blaugrana club has prepared. There is already a very potent partner for manufacturing the jerseys, the location where they would be produced, and global distribution channels, which was the primary concern for the Blaugrana entity. The scale of operations has left those familiar with it utterly astonished, and they have full confidence in a project that wouldn’t be short-term. Because if it works, Laporta’s idea is to extend the in-house brand beyond the next year despite external offers like those from Puma. In essence, they see themselves capable of replicating the model for 10 years… if Nike permits it without litigation. The endgame is here.
