FC Barcelona members voted through a historic deal with kit sponsor Nike on Saturday, hours ahead of the Catalans taking to the pitch in a vital La Liga home clash against Atletico Madrid.
Barca announced the deal through an official statement sent to members of the press and published on social media on November 9.
"FC Barcelona and Nike, two leading brands in the sports industry, are pleased to announce the start of a new multi-year partnership agreement, which will take effect from this season and which brings a new model of strategic partnership of collaboration between the two organizations," the Catalan club began in its correspondence on the matter.
The deal always had to be ratified by the club's members known as socios in an Extraordinary Assembly called for December 21 but was done so by 419 votes in favour which canceled out 27 against.
President Joan Laporta said that the new agreement is one which "improves the club's economy without members having to dig deep into their pockets and that secures our model as a [fan-owned] club."
"We are strong, convinced and determined to complete the recovery of the club in every way. And this agreement is along these lines because it helps this economic recovery a lot. And it also confirms this recovery. Barca has returned to the top of the world with this agreement," Laporta beamed.
"Beyond the quantitative and qualitative leap, it is upwards. We think about the present and the medium term as well. There is a fixed [amount] and bonus for objectives, but there are no penalties anymore. In addition, this contract frees up a series of assets that Barca did not have before and that we can now market through BLM [Barca Licensing and Merchandising] which will generate very important income for us".
While Laporta didn't give any figures, it has previously been reported that the fresh arrangement is worth $1.77 billion (€1.7billion) to the Catalans.
In any case, the deal being passed by members is a positive step for Barca ahead of its biggest game of the season against Atleti, where it will try to put a stop to a two-game run of consecutive home defeats.