By David Owen
May 21 – Paris Saint-Germain have made a new move to exploit the presence of Swedish superstar Zlatan Ibrahimović in their squad, agreeing a one-year regional sponsorship deal with Billys, a Swedish-produced pizza snack.
The deal, which includes association rights in the Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish markets, means that from September Billys packaging can be branded with the PSG logo and players.
Ola Larsson, Billys marketing director, said: “The fact that our packaging will be covered by pictures of Zlatan Ibrahimović and his team-mates has always been a bit of a dream, a dream that now comes true.”
The club confirmed that Ibrahimović, 33, who captains Sweden, remained under contract next year. Caroline Seger and Kosovare Asllani, who have nearly 200 caps for the Swedish women’s team between them, are also PSG players.
Frédéric Longuépée, PSG’s deputy general manager, said the club was “very pleased” that Billys, which is owned by Gunnar Dafgard, a company also known for its meatballs, had decided to become its first regional sponsor in Europe.
“Paris Saint-Germain enjoys fantastic support in Sweden,” Longuépée said. “This kind of regional agreement is key in further developing the club’s image and paving our way to becoming a leading global sports brand.”
The Billys deal is only the second regional sponsorship agreement inked by PSG, following an Indonesian transaction last year with SuperO2.
The club, whose prospects were transformed when Qatar Sports Investments took control in 2011, recently secured its third consecutive French championship title. Its women’s side were beaten finalists in this season’s UEFA Women’s Champions League, losing out to 1.FFC Frankfurt.
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