Thierry Henry’s best man earns €50m as broker Nike-Barcelona deal | OneFootball

Last week it emerged that not all of Barcelona’s board were completely on board with their sponsorship deal with Nike. The new deal sees Barcelona extend their contract by a decade until 2038, and will see them earn between €1.4b and €1.7b.

On Saturday, Barcelona’s members approved the deal, but during the assembly, President Joan Laporta revealed that Darren Dein had acted as an intermediary. His work saw him take him 1.65% from the club’s money, and 1.25% Nike in the deal. According to Relevo, this amounts to around €50m.

Son of former Arsenal owner David Dein, and best man at Thierry Henry’s wedding, Darren Dein has been involved in a number of big-money deals in football. He was involved in Barcelona’s sponsorship deal with Spotify, and previously was involved in a potential move for left-back Max Aarons to join the Blaugrana, a switch halted by then coach Ronald Koeman.

Dein’s involvement was one of the points of debate within the board, questioning why the two companies, who have been working together for 25 years, need an intermediary to get a deal done. It seems a particularly sensitive question, as Barcelona seek €60m to be able to register Dani Olmo and Pau Victor for the second half of the season.