FC Barcelona is a football club that throughout its history has been different than other clubs. The club has never sold out to fascist regimes, or billionaire owners, or bought championships year in and year out. The club had withheld even taking offers for a front-of-shirt sponsor and didn’t have one until 2006 when instead of taking money to fill the space, they donated some of the earnings to UNICEF. UNICEF then became Barcelona’s jersey sponsor in 2006 to keep up with the income of other big clubs. The recently elected president, Sandra Rosell, having just taken over in July of 2010, negotiated this deal to start at the beginning of the 2011-12 season. This was the first time in the club’s 111-year history that they have taken money for a shirt sponsor. This was the start, along with the election of Rosell, of a new era of spending on expensive players as well as selling shirt space to the highest bidders.
Throughout the history of the club, the culture around the club has been more than just a sport and trying to field the strongest, most expensive side. The club and team have stood for far more than a normal club, it has stood for unity amongst Catalans, high class, and purity. There is a theory that the club took its red and blue colors from the French Revolution as it stood for the worker’s collective that it became in the 1930s and continues today. The season ticket holders still have the opportunity to vote for the club’s administration and watch live streams of the presidential debates. During the Franco era, FC Barcelona along with the city was one of the only places Spanish citizens could openly oppose Franco without punishment.
The club shows high class through its museum, stadium, and play style. Barca’s museum is regarded as one of the best in the city with paintings by Dali and Miro and modern sculpture made by the disciple of Le Corbusier who designed the roof of the club’s old ground. Purity in the club is shown through the lack of advertisements that covered the front of their shirt for over 100 years. The style of play that Barca has used for decades is appealing to the eye and is entertaining for the fans to watch. If coaches and/or players decide to play with their style or flashy, they will be booed off the pitch and will be sent elsewhere no matter how good they have been for the club.
The club has stood for much more than a club, helping its fans and community make it through a fascist regime, supporting a push for freedom from Spain as well and winning five European Cups. The club stands as a symbol of community and family whereas other clubs may feel like a company where the CEO changes frequently and controls where they put the money. Since the large media deals began to hit all countries the price of players and the need to buy the best rose significantly. With Barca they rely more on building their players from within the club, once they hit the first team they’ve had years of experience with their teammates and the system in which they play.
