Music
When Barcelona take on Real Madrid in this month’s El Clasico they will have Olivia Rodrigo’s initials emblazoned on the front of their shirt.
In fact, in all the last four seasons, Barcelona’s shirt has featured a different artist for each El Clasico played in LaLiga.
From Ed Sheeran to Rosalia, some of the biggest artists in the world have been on the front of La Blaugrana’s jersey, but why?
Since 2022 Barcelona have been sponsored by Spotify, which also gained the first ever naming rights to the Camp Nou.
The front of shirt sponsorship is set to last until 2030, whilst naming rights of the stadium have been secured until 2034.
As part of the sponsorship, Spotify give up the space on the front of the shirt for the league game against Real Madrid and hand it over to an artist and usually allow them to promote something they have coming up.
Olivia Rodrigo will be promoting her third studio album, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love.
Their first activation came in the 2022/23 season, where Drake’s OVO insignia replaced Spotify’s iconic acid green circle and waves pattern. The game was played not long after Drake hit 50 million streams on Spotify and was a celebration of his achievement.
They lost that game, but when local Catalan artist Rosalia appeared on the shirt in the second activation of the season, they came out victorious.
The following season saw the iconic logo of the Rolling Stones, as well as Colombian artist Karol G take the space.
Coldplay, who were promoting a 10th studio album, and Travis Scott were front and centre as Barcelona swept Real Madrid aside twice last season, and Ed Sheeran was in focus for the first of the 2025/26 campaign.
Curiously, it was the second time Ed Sheeran has sponsored a shirt, as he sponsored his home town club Ipswich for several seasons, including their campaign in the Premier League.
Its a unique situation but one that clearly benefits both sides as it brings two audiences together for a common goal.