FC Barcelona has agreed a multimillion-dollar deal with investors from the United Arab Emirates to build a luxury residential complex in Dubai.
Mundo Deportivo said the project will use the Barça brand and is similar to initiatives already underway by Chelsea and Manchester City in the same emirate.
The plan is to create a mini city in Dubai featuring buildings, luxury apartments, and shared community areas where the Barça crest will have prominent visibility, in exchange for a significant annual fee over several years.
The yearly amount could exceed around $12 million, according to sources cited by Mundo Deportivo.
Residents of the complex will have access to exclusive services and areas designed in the style of the Catalan club.
The project consists of four branded luxury towers, expected to include pools, gardens, and premium amenities. The complex will also feature an official FC Barcelona store and a small museum.
FC Barcelona, colloquially known as Barça, is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in the LaLiga, the top flight of Spanish football.
The real estate agreement has not yet been made official and still requires approval at an Assembly of delegate members.
If ratified, the deal would also include brand visibility on the back of the team’s jersey in domestic competitions, replacing UNICEF (ACNUR) starting in July.
In Champions League matches, however, a charitable sponsor must appear, and the chosen logo will be that of the Barça Foundation.
The club initially planned to hold an Extraordinary Assembly before the elections, which would also have been used to ratify the renewal of the Spotify sponsorship.
However, during a board meeting, FC Barcelona decided to postpone the Assembly indefinitely until after the elections.
According to Mundo Deportivo, regaining LaLiga’s 1:1 financial fair play rule (something expected to happen earlier) does not depend on the approval of the Dubai agreement.
Club president Joan Laporta traveled to Dubai in late December last year to attend the Globe Soccer Awards gala.
After the event he remained in the emirate for a few additional days along with board member Xavi Puig.
At the most recent Ordinary General Assembly, members had already approved a separate commercial agreement aimed at expanding the club internationally through Novadial Corporate, focused on creating dining and hospitality spaces worldwide featuring the FC Barcelona brand and image.
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