Messi, Neymar, Pique & Turan to travel to Japan for Rakuten presentation

Messi, Neymar, Pique & Turan to travel to Japan for Rakuten presentation

El presidente del Barça Josep Maria Bartomeu, e Hiroshi Mikitani, fundado y CEO de Rakuten, en la presentación del acuerdo de patrocinio celebrado en Barcelona
El presidente del Barça Josep Maria Bartomeu, e Hiroshi Mikitani, fundado y CEO de Rakuten, en la presentación del acuerdo de patrocinio celebrado en Barcelona | Valentí Enrich

Vice president Manel Arroyo will also form part of the Barça delegation

The four players will then return Barcelona to begin pre-season training

Leo Messi, Neymar Jr, Gerard Pique and Arda Turan, along with FC Barcelona's vice president of marketing and communication Manel Arroyo, form part of the club's delegation in Japan for the official presentation of the club's new sponsor Rakuten. 

The four players and the vice president will take part in a series of events on Wednesday and Thursday in Tokyo as Rakuten officially takes over from Qatar Airways as Barça's main sponsor. 

It's the first public event in which the players will be seen wearing the shirt with Rakuten branding on the front. 

The Barça delegation will arrive in Japan on Tuesday. In fact, Pique is already there and has been for a few days, while Arda Turan and Neymar are making their own way there before returning to Barcelona for pre-season. 

Pie de foto | AUTOR FOTO

Messi WITH THE DELEGATION

Leo Messi, who returned to Barcelona late on Monday after ending his holidays, will travel with the club's official delegation. On Wednesday, when everyone is in Japan, they will have a private meeting with Rakuten CEO and founder Hiroshi Mikitani. 

There will be more events on the Thursday, centered around a press conference to celebrate the agreement between Barcelona and the Japanese company. Remember: the deal is for four years with an option for a fifth year. 

Both the players and Manel Arroyo will have a busy day on Thursday. Among the planned activities, there is a meeting with Rakuten employees and a private dinner with guests exclusively invited by the Japanese company. 

In addition, there will be a series of interviews with Japanese media and media from the rest of the world. 

The players and the delegation will then return on Thursday, so that they can begin pre-season as planned under new coach Ernesto Valverde on Friday at the club's training ground (July 14). 

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