Barcelona will have a new name on the front of its jerseys from the start of the 2017-18 season with Rakuten becoming the club's new sponsor as part of an initial four-year deal worth an estimated 220 million euros ($236M).
Founded in 1997, Rakuten is the largest eCommerce company in Japan, and started expanding outside its home country in 2005 and is eager to further expand its worldwide reach through one of La Liga's biggest names.
"As FC Barcelona’s Main Global Partner, Rakuten is set to power our global brand strategy and, as FCB’s first-ever Global Innovation and Entertainment Partner, we are looking to bring the collective power of our brands like Viber, Wuaki, Ebates, Kobo, and PriceMinister to build an innovation framework that will deliver innovative solutions and services to fans, members and players," said Hiroshi Mikitani, Chairman and CEO of Rakuten, Inc.