Previous note: reputation management is all about consistency, coherence, credibility, honesty and trust. It’s fair to say that reputation is not friend of bipolarity. The abysmal year of 2014 of FC Barcelona brings back the tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to the world of corporate football. FIFA’s transfer ban applied to the club is just the most recent stain in the Catalan’s reputation.
FC Barcelona was given 14-month ban after been found guilty of serious infringement of rules related to signing international players under the age of 18. Even if the club is contesting this decision, this ban raises ethical and moral questions for a club known for it’s alliance with UNICEF.
The UNICEF sponsorship started in 2006, with the Catalans donating 1.5 million euros per year to the organization for five years. As part of the settled agreement, FC Barcelona wore the UNICEF on the front of their jerseys. It was the first time in its history that FC Barcelona had a sponsor name on its jersey. Was it really for charity? Or was it a small step towards a new and outstanding sponsorship deal?
In the end of 2010, Qatar Foundation signed a €150 million deal to be the first official advertiser in the FC Barcelona 111 year history. However, the deal was made with Qatar Sports Investment that after two years changed the beneficiary of the contract to Qatar Airways. In someway, the innocence and purity of FC Barcelona’s identity ended here.
To create a good reputational narrative, like a genuine concern with charity and children, you must be sincerely authentic. If you create the doubt that you are using charity as a mean to achieve financial goals and to elude your stakeholders the narrative will be flawed.
The season 2013/14 started with the acclaimed signing of the Brazilian star Neymar for 58million euros. Soon after, Spanish tax authorities accused FC Barcelona of fraud in the transaction of the player, related to alleged misappropriation of funds and “financial engineering”. It was the second tax scandal linked to the club in one year. Lionel Messi and his father were also charged of tax fraud.
As a result of the investigation, FC Barcelona President – Sandro Rosell, resigned in end of January of 2014. In February, FC Barcelona paid 13.5 million euros to Spanish treasury, due to a possible difference of interpretation. The real worth of the transfer still remains unclear, with different sources stating it ascends the value of 100 million euro.
For a club that is a symbol for Catalonia independence from Spain and that enjoyed the best sporting decade of its history, it’s hard to explain the unethical and irresponsible management acts of its administration. These bipolar actions damage the club reputation and humiliate a proud kind of supporters that still believe that FC Barcelona “es más que un club”.
image edited from: http://media4.fcbarcelona.com/media/asset_publics/resources/000/006/440/original/Sandro_Rosell4.v1321446897.JPG
Football & Reputation 
