The signing of Ricky Rubio has not only benefited Barça in the game, but has also boosted the Catalan team’s income and impact on social networks. According to club data, ticket sales have grown by 28% since the arrival of the point guard, who is already the player on the squad with the most shirts sold. Likewise, the section’s Instagram profile has 60,000 new followers and an average of 500,000 more interactions per month.
The El Masnou player, who announced on January 30 that he was joining Barça’s first team in training, officially signed for the Barça club a week later, on February 6.
The expectation for Ricky in the Catalan parish was enormous from the first meeting, because according to club sources, Rubio’s return against Monaco on March 1 was the best turnover result in the history of the basketball section without counting the confrontations. against Real Madrid, and the fifth best in history including the classics.
That night 7,045 spectators came to the Palau Blaugrana, the third best attendance of the season. There were only more fans in the Euroleague games against Real Madrid, which took place on January 3 and was attended by 7,611 fans, and against Panathinaikos, which took place on November 3 and was attended by 7,225 people.
However, the ‘Ricky Rubio effect’ has continued to be present throughout the month of March. Since his re-debut against the Monegasque team, ticket sales per single match at the Palau Blaugrana have increased by 28% compared to the season average up to that point. On the other hand, ticket sales through promotional offers have grown by 23%.
Likewise, Rubio only needed one month to tie with Nico Laprovittola, hero yesterday against Maccabi with a decisive triple with five seconds left, as the player who has sold the most shirts this campaign, with 27.65% of the total for each one. The ‘Top 3’ is closed by Tomas Satoransky, but at a considerable distance from the previous two (9.85%). Centers Willy Hernangómez and Jan Vesely, with 6.44% each, are part of the ‘Top 5’.
‘Rickymania’ has also been reflected on social networks, since Barça was the Euroleague team with the most interactions on Instagram during the week in which the signing of the Spanish international was announced and during the week of his presentation.
Furthermore, in the last two months, since Rubio’s incorporation was made official, the Barça team has gained 60,000 followers on Instagram and has 500,000 more monthly interactions, going from an average of around one million to one and a half million.
It is still early to assess his sporting performance, although in his first games with Barça he has left details of his excellent quality. However, Ricky’s media and economic impact has been immediate since his return to the Catalan team.
