TOKYO -- FC Barcelona's revenue will exceed 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) for the first time in the 2019-20 season, driven by growing Asian sponsorships and its digital business, the soccer club's president said in a recent interview with Nikkei. Josep Maria Bartomeu, traveling with the team on its summer tour, said the Spanish soccer giant will achieve its revenue target -- originally set for the 2020-21 season -- one year earlier than expected. Barcelona's revenue for 2018-19 is about 960 million euros. "We are the No. 1 club in the world in revenue," said Bartomeu, who expects revenue to grow by around 4% over the 2019-20 season to top 1 billion euros. The club's revenue trailed archrival Real Madrid in 2017-18, according to global accounting specialist Deloitte. Bartomeu also noted that the club has yet to decide all of its sponsors, saying "we are still open" to striking deals with new partners. The president stressed that there is much room for growth by monetizing the club's huge global fan base. As potential new sponsors, he cited airlines as global partners and banks as local sponsors. Barcelona's revenue has shown especially strong growth in Asia, where it signed a huge sponsorship deal with Japanese e-commerce powerhouse Rakuten whereby the company's logo appears on the team jersey. The club's first overseas office in Hong Kong, which was set up in 2013, has been attracting new sponsors, according to Bartomeu. Sponsorship deals in Asia will bring in 110 million euros in the 2019-20 season, he predicted. In addition to Japan and China, he cited South Korea, Indonesia and India as priority Asian markets. The swelling salaries of Barcelona's star players, however, eat up about 70% of revenue. But player pay is a cost that is hard to cut, Bartomeu said, adding that he wants to see revenue grow faster than salaries, thus lowering the ratio. Barcelona has signed Japanese striker Hiroki Abe from the Kashima Antlers, a club belonging to the Japanese Professional League. Bartomeu described Abe as being a perfect fit for the club. Asked about Takefusa Kubo, the Japanese football sensation who joined Barcelona's youth academy in 2011 only to sign with Real Madrid, Bartomeu just said, "He is a good player" who has joined a big club. "That is good news for Japan." Barcelona is the capital of the semi-autonomous region of Catalonia. Bartomeu explained that the club's 144,000 members have "different political ideas," ruling out participation in the region's fractious politics. But he added that the club is committed to defending democracy and freedom of speech, as well as the region's right to decide its own future.
FC Barcelona's sponsorship contract with Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten will push the club's revenue north of €1bn ($ 1.1bn ) in next year . The kit sponsorship agreement has been followed by a swift growth for the team in Asia , where the organisation predicts deals will bring in €110m next year , helping grow total revenue by around 70% from €960m in Bartomeu . However, TOKYO 's player salaries equal roughly 4% of the side's revenue, meaning that revenue growth rate must continue to rise above wage increases to remain profitable.