Barcelona has signed a gigantic new sponsorship deal with Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten. The deal is worth around $248.3 million and will see the Rakuten logo feature on Barcelona's t-shirts from next season.

The four-year agreement, with a one-year extension option, sees Barcelona enter into a shirt-sponsorship revenue niche matched by only Manchester United.

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Barcelona sees Rakuten as the ideal partner in the club's efforts to penetrate the Asian football market.

The deal is thought to be worth approximately $65.8 million per season, with $6.2 million of that dependent on on-pitch success. This is almost double to what Barcelona is earning on their current $36 million-per-year Qatar Airways sponsorship deal.

According to Barcelona President Josef Bartomeu, the early stages of negotiations with Rakuten were made possible through a meeting that was arranged by defender Gerard Pique.

"The deal began at a dinner hosted by Gerarad Pique at Hiroshi Mikitani's house in San Francisco in 2005," Bartomeu revealed. Hiroshi Mikitani is the CEO of Rakuten.

In securing this deal, the Barcelona president has fulfilled the target he set out when speaking to supporters at the club's AGM last year.

In a statement, Bartomeu said that the club is delighted with the new agreement.

"This agreement puts us at the forefront of sports club sponsorships, which has always been an objective for the current board." Bartomeu said.

Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani, on the other hand, said that he was very happy about joining the Barca community, adding that the partnership is an opportunity for them to power their global brand strategy.

"I am very excited about joining the Barca community as I have personally followed the team for decades," Mikitani said, adding that he admires the team's unique playing style and professionalism.

TagsFC Barcelona rumors, Gerard Pique, Barcelona, rakuten