FC Barcelona Slammed For Crypto Deal With Andrew Tate Links

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FC Barcelona has come under fire for signing a three-year sponsorship deal with a Samoa-based cryptocurrency company promoted by controversial influencer Andrew Tate.

Zero Knowledge Company (ZKP) He was only following three online accounts, FC Barcelona, Bitcoin and Andrew Tate, when the deal was made Announce. The company does not disclose any leadership or ownership, while claiming $100 million in funding.

The move has intensified scrutiny of Barcelona’s search for revenue as the club grapples with heavy debt and a costly stadium redevelopment, raising concerns it is being exposed to commercial and reputational risks through a shadowy cryptocurrency company.

“It sounds like a bad joke, but unfortunately it is true,” former Barcelona board director Javier Villaguana told Channel

It sounds like a bad joke, but unfortunately it’s true.

FC Barcelona announced a sponsorship deal with ZKP, a little-known blockchain company registered in Samoa, a jurisdiction that the European Union includes on its list of tax havens. When the deal was announced,…

– Xavier Villajoana (@XaviVilajoana) November 18, 2025

Andrew Tate Links

Villaguana called on Barcelona to “clarify whether ZKP has any direct or indirect relationship with Andrew Tate”, noting that the influencer has… “He faced charges of human trafficking, rape, and belonging to a criminal organization.”

He added that since the deal was announced, “Tate has posted a video promoting ZKP, which has added to public concern.”

He urged Barcelona must “act with immediate transparency” and explain the due diligence it exercised before signing the agreement.

While ZKP’s website claims a commitment to transparency, the company offers few details about who is behind it.

“Everyone is wondering: Who is behind this?” As if knowing the names would make the code stronger. “It won’t happen. We’re real — engineers, cryptographers, ex-founders, and system killers. But we’re not playing the PR game.”

Increasing financial pressure on FC Barcelona

The move to partner with ZKP comes at a time when FC Barcelona is facing increasing financial pressure. The root cause of the crisis is the club’s exorbitant spending on players, transfers and wages over the past decade.

Financial pressures worsened with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, leading to a collapse in matchday revenues. This particularly affected the club, as these revenues were among its main sources of income.

Over the years, the club has also been penalized for repeatedly breaching Spanish football’s spending cap, with its latest accounts showing net debt of €469m.

The club has also committed to a massive renovation project, Espai Barça, to rebuild and modernize Barcelona’s main stadium at Camp Nou. The move has placed a heavy long-term debt and financing burden on the sporting giant’s balance sheet, with financial records showing more than €900 million in stadium-related borrowing.

Barcelona has tried to address its finances through asset sales, including parts of its long-term television income. However, costly delays in the stadium’s renovation have exacerbated the urgent need to generate revenue.

The club has been involved in other Web3 projects over the years, many of which have floundered. Despite the setbacks, Barcelona has maintained its digital initiatives.

Barcelona sold its first non-fungible token (NFT) for $693,000 at Sotheby’s in July 2022. It also launched the FC Barcelona token through Chilliz and Socios in June 2020. Sold For $1.3 million in less than two hours.

Last year, the price of the club’s fan token saw a drop of more than 73%, according to CoinMarketCap data.