Reports in the press today that Barclays are seriously considering pulling out of their sponsorship deal for Premiership football.
Apparently, being clever bankers and all that, they're wondering if giving £70m a year to 20 football clubs is good business any more, when people don't appear to be falling over each other to take up Barclays' products at the moment, for some reason, despite the outlay.
The sponsorship element from Barclays itself probably only makes up 10% of most Premiership clubs' income, but even so; what would top-level football look like in three years' time if the maximum income from sponsorship and TV rights (in itself driven by advertisers) fell from £30m per club to say £3m? Would Ronaldo have to drive more carefully on "A" roads in his second-hand ferraris?
Apparently, being clever bankers and all that, they're wondering if giving £70m a year to 20 football clubs is good business any more, when people don't appear to be falling over each other to take up Barclays' products at the moment, for some reason, despite the outlay.
The sponsorship element from Barclays itself probably only makes up 10% of most Premiership clubs' income, but even so; what would top-level football look like in three years' time if the maximum income from sponsorship and TV rights (in itself driven by advertisers) fell from £30m per club to say £3m? Would Ronaldo have to drive more carefully on "A" roads in his second-hand ferraris?