Sam Marsden, Barcelona correspondent
Barcelona have announced that Coldplay’s logo will be splashed across the front of the club’s shirt during the men’s Clásico against Real Madrid on Oct. 26 (stream live on ESPN+) as part of a continued sponsorship agreement with Spotify.
The British band, who are one of the most popular musical groups ever, will also feature on the women’s jersey for the Liga F match against Eibar on Nov. 2.
In addition to the shirts, Spotify, Barça and Coldplay are also launching a limited-edition lifestyle collection of merchandise including T-shirts, hoodies and scarfs.
Coldplay will be the fifth act to create a special one-off shirt for Barça, following on from the likes of Drake, Rosalía, Karol G and The Rolling Stones.
The logo, which is a series of moons inspired by the group’s new album, titled “Moon Music,” will replace the Spotify branding on the front of Barça’s shirts.
Coldplay have a cherished place in recent Barça history, with Pep Guardiola using the band’s “Viva la Vida” as the soundtrack to a motivational video shown to the players ahead of the 2009 Champions League final they won against Man United.
The track subsequently gained increased significance among supporters, while Coldplay’s members (Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman, and Will Champion) have previously been invited to training sessions at the club’s Sant Joan Despí base.
In 2023, the band also played a series of sold-out concerts at the Olympic Stadium in the city — which became Barça’s temporary home later that year to allow Camp Nou to be redeveloped.
The gigs were attended by Barça players past and present, including Lionel Messi, with distracted concertgoers chanting the Argentine forward’s name at one point at a time when a return to the Catalan club had not been completely ruled out before his move to Inter Miami CF.
Barça will desperately hope that shared history with Coldplay will bring them some luck when they wear the special shirts against Madrid next weekend.
Their first collaboration was with Canadian rapper Drake and ended in defeat to Los Blancos in the Clásico in October 2022.
A win followed in the next Clásico when Rosalía’s “Motomami” logo adorned Barça shirts, but back-to-back LaLiga defeats to Madrid have followed as part of collaborations with The Rolling Stones and, earlier this year, Karol G.
The women’s team have had better luck. They weren’t part of the Drake partnership, but have beaten Real Madrid, Sevilla and Villarreal while wearing the Rosalía, The Rolling Stones and Karol G special edition shirts.
