Barça: an uncomfortable emblem in the Middle East

BarcelonaIt's an ordinary morning in the Barcelona neighborhood of As the small businesses get going, the rabble leaves the school. In the upper left corner, where the Sant Jordi cross is located, the space is covered with black tape. After waiting a few seconds, another, slightly older, child comes out of the doorway.

This detail, which may seem minor, has been, is, and will be one of Barça's great workhorses when selling products in the Middle East. To market Barça merchandise in this Islamic region. To the point that on some occasions they have even asked Barça for permission to modify the crest. The club has always remained inflexible. 2003. Barça, with the arrival of Laporta and figures like Marc Ingla as vice president of marketing, made a major commitment to marketing the Barça brand worldwide. symbols, suddenly a multitude of retouched shirts appeared in which the Sant Jordi cross had been removed. which helped them circumvent their country's strict laws.

The problems continued with Sandro Rosell as president. "Them," acknowledges this executive, who prefers to remain anonymous. However, if Barça partners with a large company in the country, the demand for shirts, backpacks, caps, or any other type of accessory increases. This is where the limitations appear, especially if you don't want to cheat and follow official channels. ~BK_S contact Barça to obtain an official license to manufacture and market caps in the Middle East. "They told us that the crest was a problem and they themselves sent us a design with the Sant Jordi cross altered, where only one of the stripes remained. Faced with this refusal, the company didn't see the deal clearly and canceled the order.

Real Madrid decided to remove the cross from the crest to sell shirts in the Middle East

Barça isn't the only club to have gone through this conflict. Real Madrid also has a Christian cross on its royal crown. But in 2017, president Florentino Pérez decided to stick to the legal side and remove it to avoid conflicts in the Middle East. The cross remains on the official kit, but all products sold in this Islamic region don't feature it. "He only thinks about business and has an environment that allows him to do these things. We look at it differently," admit those in the Barça offices. Gestures like this help explain why Real Madrid have a bigger following than Barcelona in countries like Saudi Arabia: fans can wear their colors without making anyone uncomfortable.

"Barça's symbols are what they are. There's no will or intention to change them. It's a debate that isn't even being discussed," maintain official Barça sources. Unlike what Real Madrid did in its day, Camp Nou maintains that the crest will never be modified to market shirts, the product that generates the most revenue worldwide. In fact, they add that Barça Licensing & Merchandising (BLM) has not received any requests under Laporta's tenure to retouch the crest of the official kit. And that if such a proposal were ever to arrive, it would be immediately discarded, just as the previous board did. more than a club this is it.