The ghost of Figo haunts Barcelona: Laporta rejects Revolut's huge offer over "betrayal" | Goal.com
Barcelona's board has rejected a tempting financial offer from digital banking giant "Revolut" to become its new financial partner. The reason? Luis Figo.
Spanish newspaper "Mundo Deportivo", citing Catalonia radio via the "Barça Reservat" podcast, revealed intriguing behind-the-scenes details of the Catalan club's search for a new financial partner, a year on from the end of its contract with "CaixaBank".
President Joan Laporta's board is currently weighing up a renewal with "CaixaBank" amid a flurry of offers from global financial institutions, the most notable coming from British company "Revolut", the radio station explained.
Revolut's offer represented an exceptional opportunity in financial and marketing terms, according to the source, given the company's global reach and its enticing terms.
The company became the global financial partner of Manchester City this year, appearing on the back of the men's and women's shirts, and it also fronts the shirts of Italian club Como as main sponsor. It was desperate to breach the "Camp Nou" fortress. Barcelona said one word: no.
Money and sport had nothing to do with it, the newspaper noted. The reason was historical and emotional to the core. Revolut's advertising face and global ambassador is Portuguese star Luis Figo, and the company's recent promotional campaigns have not hesitated to evoke his shocking move from Barcelona to Real Madrid in the summer of 2000.
Blaugrana fans still consider that switch the greatest betrayal in the club's history. Twenty-six years on, it remains seared into the club's memory.
The board felt a partnership with a company that glorifies Figo and mines the story of his betrayal for marketing would be a fresh stab at the fans' feelings, turning public opinion against the board itself, according to Catalonia radio.
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Some red lines at Barcelona cannot be crossed, no matter the financial temptation, the radio station affirmed, and cooperation with any entity that counts Figo among its ranks is one of them.
With this decision, Barcelona sends a clear message. Some wounds cannot be healed by money, and some names will remain forever barred from the Catalan home, even if they arrive loaded with millions of dollars.
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