The particular relationship between Coldplay, Spotify and Barcelona

There is a “higher powerr”, a “higher power”, behind ai four goals scored by Barcelona against Real Madrid Saturday evening at the Santiago Bernabeu, during “El Clasico”, the traditional challenge between the two most successful football teams in the Spanish championship. It’s the power of rock. Specifically, of one of the most beloved bands of the millennium: Coldplay. On the Blaugrana shirts worn on Saturday by Robert Lewandowski and his associates on the pitch there was the logo of the British group led by Chris Martin. That’s right. The operation was managed by Spotifywhich in 2022 started a multi-million dollar partnership with Barcelona – 310 million put on the table by the streaming giant – to become the main sponsor of the Blaugrana team, seeing its brand imprinted on the uniforms of the club’s teams but also being the protagonist of a naming operation for the home stadium of the Catalan team, the Camp Nou.

So if in previous matches the logos of – among others – had appeared on the front of the Barcelona kit.Drake, Rolling Stones and Rosalíathis time the choice fell on Coldplay, who have just sent their new album of unreleased songs to stores “Moon music”. The strategy aims to promote artists’ music on Spotify and, as a result, attract more users: “We are honored that Spotify has chosen to feature our Moon Music design on the FC Barcelona shirt. We have had a special relationship with the city and the club for many years”, underlined Chris Martin and his associates, also alluding to the links between Coldplay’s music and Barça’s successes.

Guardiola and “Viva la vida”

To trace the roots of this special – and curious – bond we need to step back in time sixteen years and go back to August 2008. Pep Guardiola he was recently promoted to the bench of the Catalan club’s main team after successfully coaching the talents of Barcelona B.

The legend goes like this: while on the debut day of the championship the team – which includes champions such as Gerard Piqué, Carles Puyol, Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, Samuel Eto’o, Thierry Henry and, of course, Leo Messi – is traveling by bus towards the small Numancia stadium, in the city of Soria, a song plays on the radio which attracts Guardiola’s attention. It starts with a riff played by some strings, then opens into an optimistic and infectious refrain and culminates in an “oh-oh-oh, oh-oh…” that instills confidence. AND “.Long live life”, the second single from “Viva la vida or dream and all his friends”, the album that Coldplay sent to stores a few months earlier. Perhaps Guardiola, who as a footballer also spent some years of his football career in Italy, playing between the Brescia of the legendary Carlo Mazzone and Roma (he learned Italian thanks to the songs of Francesco De Gregori), perceives the touch of Italianness that ‘is behind that riff, written by the Turin violinist Davide Rossi, who from that moment will become one of Chris Martin’s trusted men. And never mind that that day “Viva la vida” didn’t bring luck to Barcelona, ​​who left the Numancia stadium defeated 1-0: Guardiola decides that that song should be a sort of anthem with which to inspire his men and fans before his team’s matches.

Barcelona on the top of the world…

A suggestion? Perhaps. However, 2008/2009 Barcelona will be ranked first in the Primera División at the end of the year with nine points more than rivals Real Madrid and 105 goals scored. Not only that. The Blaugrana will also win the Copa del Rey, the Spanish national cup, and above all the Champions League. Thus achieving the “treble”, the hat-trick, for the first time in their history. In the following months they will also win the Club World Cup, the European Super Cup and the Spanish Super Cup, thus becoming the first team in the history of football to win six trophies in a calendar year. “I used to rule the world,” sings Chris Martin in “Viva la vida.” And Guardiola’s Barcelona, ​​inspired and energized by the hit of the British band, truly reigns over the world. “The band and the club have a love for each other that goes back many years, from the band’s visit to training, to the Barça players seeing Coldplay live in Barcelona over the years, to the music of the band that has served as soundtrack to some of the club’s greatest moments,” commented Juli Guiu, vice president of marketing at FC Barcelona.

…and then directly to the moon

Barcelona ahead of the “Clásico” he created 1899 t-shirts with the Coldplay logo printed on them: it was possible to purchase them in the club’s official stores since last October 18th.

Another edition, made up of just 22 copies and characterized by a fluorescent effect on the logo (signed by the starting players), was put on sale at a cost of 420 euros. The club, in agreement with the band, has announced that it will donate the proceeds from the sale to a UNHCR project, the United Nations agency specialized in the management of refugees. It is not known at the moment how many copies of the shirts have been sold: “Coldplay are one of the most loved bands in the world on Spotify and their historical connection with Barça is profound. We are thrilled to celebrate this story with fans around the world through the iconic Barça shirt,” said Marc Hazan, Spotify’s vice president of partnerships and marketing.the launch of ‘Moon Music’ is a perfect moment to celebrate the power of football and the ability of music to bring people together”.