Barclays may end sponsorship of the Premier League in 2016

Barclays may end its title sponsorship of the Premier League at the end of the current contract in 2016, says the Wall Street Journal on the 26/01/2014.

The English 1^st Division has been called the Barclays Premier League since 2001. The bank pays €48.3 million per season to the league since the extension of the partnership in 2012. The extension took place at a time when the bank wanted to raise its profile in the UK and internationally. Robert Diamond, the former CEO of Barclays who piloted this sponsorship project, left the bank in July 2012 following a financial scandal.

Barclays would now like to reduce the costs of its sponsorship strategy. The bank has launched a plan to achieve €2 billion in savings by 2015, on the 12/02/2013. The company is considering all options, and has not taken any final decision, explains the Wall Street Journal.

• Robert Diamond left Barclays in July 2012 after the British bank was ordered to pay a fine of $450 million (€328.9 million) for manipulating Libor (London Interbank Offered Rate) rates.