FC Barcelona To Make League of Legends Team
FC Barcelona may have lost Lionel Messi but they’ll be gaining Elder Dragon and Rift Herald. The renowned Spanish athletic club announced that they are entering the League of Legends space next year. The massive sporting brand bought out the Spanish SuperLiga side, S2V Esports’ spot in the league and will field a team in 2022. According to a report from Spanish site, 2Playbook, the Barca beat out La Liga rivals Sevilla FC in a bidding war for the franchise slot.
Spain = EU’s Hub For League?
Despite FC Barcelona’s current experience in esports, this will be the first time they play League of Legends. The SuperLiga already saw headlines in the summer for another Barcelona connection. Spanish streamer, Ibai Llanos and FC Barcelona (football) legend, Gerard Pique, started a team as well. This creates quite the fascinating context where Pique, a current FC Barcelona footballer, will own a squad that plays against a club he owns….in esports. This has never happened in the space so it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.
In the LEC, Europe’s top League division, one of the best squads in the land, G2 Esports, is owned by a Spaniard as well. Carlos “Ocelote” Rodríguez Santiago, started the team in 2014 and took them all the way to Worlds Finals in 2019. Between FC Barcelona, Pique, Ibai and Ocelote, Spain is looking like it’s becoming the capital of European League. It’s going to be a special day when Barca’s iconic Blaugrana makes its debut in League of Legends.
Featured Image: The Barcelona logo is on a flag waving above the stadium on April 4, 2018, in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)