Spanish footballing giants FC Barcelona have agreed a multi-year deal with Chinese insurance provider Taiping Life.
The partnership will run until the 2022/2023 and it will grant Taiping Life access to the many LED boards that run around the Nou Camp during fixtures.
Some of the most notable matches include an upcoming showdown against La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid in late April and the ‘Derbi Barceloni’ against Espanyol in May.
However, these matches pale in comparison to some of the UEFA Champions League fixtures that will potentially take place over the coming months.
Barcelona are scheduled to face Italian side Napoli at the Nou Camp on the 19th of March and assuming Barcelona win the two-leg tie, more matches will be held at the near 100,000 capacity behemoth of a stadium.
Le #Barca signe un accord de partenariat avec l’assureur chinois Taiping Life et continue son développement en #Chine https://t.co/HUNL7SkPyn
— Me Thierry Granturco (@Me_Granturco) February 22, 2020
Barcelona are no strangers to the Chinese market. As a matter of fact, they are currently leading the way for clubs across the globes when it comes to China.
As reported in January of this year, Barcelona are in fact the most popular side in the Chinese online market.
Barcelona’s Asia-Pacific Director Toni Claveria had this to say, “China is an important market for Barcelona.’
‘The cooperation with Taiping Life Insurance further strengthened our commitment to the Chinese market and will also help the club strengthen its connection with Chinese fans and further expand the number of fans.”
Cheng Yonghong, CEO of Taiping Life also said this, “Barça and Taiping both have a rich brand history, and Barça is one of the most successful and popular football clubs worldwide. Barça’s brand promotion successfully reaches every corner around the globe and has a huge fanbase in China.’
‘This partnership will further enhance Taiping’s brand awareness internationally and ability to deliver unique customer service experience.”
Taiping Life customers will be offered the opportunity to visit the Nou Camp, meet former players as well as many other benefits.
Barcelona’s ability to connect with fans across the globe has always been one of their strongest assets off the field. Both the Catalan giants and fierce Spanish rivals Real Madrid have dominated La Liga for what seems like an eternity, as well as the UEFA Champions League.
There is certainly a lot of coverage out here in Australia and it should come as no surprise that there is a lot of coverage in China as well.
The Chinese league has grown exponentially in the last few years, with more and more superstars moving out there to play for clubs such as Guangzhou Evergrande and Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C.
Some of the biggest players in the Chinese Super League include former Chelsea star Oscar, former Barcelona midfielder Paulinho, Austrian striker Marko Arnautovic who only recently moved to China from English giants West Ham United, Italian winger Stephan El Shaarawy, former Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik and former Manchester United player Marouane Fellaini.
Many of these players move East in the latter stages of their careers. Fellaini, Hamsik and Paulinho are all examples of that.
However, there are some who, put simply, chase the money and sacrifice the chance to play in Europe in the hopes of setting themselves and their families up after they retire well down the line.
Regardless, it’s a smart move on Barcelona’s behalf to make this deal, which will improve their standing and continuous development in China.
The club arguably needed to make some more positive waves after the debacle that has been the signing of Danish striker Martin Braithwaite.
Braithwaite was only signed as injury cover for French attacker Ousmane Dembele. La Liga granted the Catalans the ability to sign someone, an agreement which didn’t go down well with many fans, despite the club being restricted to signing someone from the domestic league only.
Braithwaite was signed from cellar dwellers Leganes, who as a result of Braithwaite departing, will probably end up in the Second Division for the first time since the 2015/16 season.
So this Taiping Life deal has come at just the right time for Barcelona.
It’s a win-win deal and one can only assume that the game of soccer will only grow from here in China. This is something that all fans can agree on. So hopefully for the Spanish powerhouse, the news of this deal with Taiping Life will get them back in the good books of some.
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