Japanese sponsor wanted Manchester City to wear RED in order to seal multi-million pound deal

The Premier League club were reportedly discussing a sponsorship with the Japanese giants in 2011-12

On Wednesday, Barcelona signed a world-record sponsorship deal worth up to £53million per year with Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten.

But it could have been Manchester City signing that big-money contract – had they been willing to accept one condition.

Hiroshi Mikitani, the company’s founder and chief executive, has long held a desire to attach his firm’s name to a world-renowned football brand on top of the baseball team and J-League soccer franchise that Rakuten already owns.

Man City chief executive Ferran Soriano was contacted about a deal, according to Mundo Deportivo , and conversations continued through the 2011-12 campaign.

The final condition of the deal, however, led to its downfall.

Rakuten, MD claim, wanted City to switch to wearing red.

With the Eastlands’ club’s eternal rivals Man United world-famous for their red shirts, it was obviously a complete non-starter for Soriano and the City management – no matter how much money was on the table.

Vincent Tan, the owner of Cardiff City, infamously switched their famous navy shirts to red in a bid to attract more support in Tan’s homeland, Malaysia, and the rest of Asia.

With Man City reluctant to do that deal, talks were broken off and Barca are the principal benefactors.

The Nou Camp club’s vice-president Manel Arroyo revealed on Wednesday that the deal could reach £53million per season, with a base payment of £48m that could be massaged by up to £5.5m in bonuses depending on the club’s success.

That usurps Manchester United’s partnership with Chevrolet as the world’s biggest.