In the world of football, clubs like Barcelona and other European giants tend to consider marketing a massive asset and means of sharing information. Whether it be to promote new signings or new items in the store of the club, it is useful for various reasons.
However, sometimes certain acts take place that are legal yet a bit unethical to pursue. Dubious as they may be, others can not exactly take any sort of action against such scenarios due to the legality of them.
A similar case has just been brought to light by Mundo Deportivo, where they highlight how English Premier League side Manchester City have just recently used the images of German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan in their latest promotions in regards to their new home kit for next season.
Having posted an image of Ilkay Gundogan wearing the new jersey on their Spanish Twitter account with the caption “What a t-shirt!” Manchester City have essentially managed to advertise their 2023/2024 kit with the face of a player who will not even be representing them in the aforementioned footballing campaign.
However, the Manchester-based club was quick to mend their ways as they deleted the tweet a few minutes after making it. The German has already signed for FC Barcelona and it is even expected that the 32-year-old’s acquisition will be made official as soon as next week.
Despite the fact that it is slightly peculiar as to why Manchester City used Gundogan in their promotional content, it remains true that he is contracted to them until the end of June and so far, he is still technically a Manchester City player.
Gundogan has reportedly signed a two-year deal with FC Barcelona that includes the option to extend the contract for a third year given that he manages to play at least 60% of the games prior to the third year in question.
