‘Japanese Amazon’ Rakuten to buy mystery Prem club after ending £25m-a-year shirt deal with struggling Barcelona

JAPANESE giants Rakuten are in the market to buy a club in England after they severed ties with Barcelona.

The massive business, dubbed the Amazon of Japan, are using middle men to scout the market.

GettyBarcelona sponsors Rakuten are looking to buy an English club after ending their partnership with the Spaniards[/caption]

Rakuten were shirt sponsors at Barca and pumped in around £25million a year for the privilege.

But with the Spanish side in decline they are looking elsewhere and seeking more exposure in the UK.

It’s expected Rakuten will target a Premier League side.

But they could even even look into a Championship team.

Rakuten’s interest comes after Newcastle were taken over in a £300million deal by a Saudi consortium.

The new Toon owners are worth a combined £320BILLION.

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And they are ready to pump money into Newcastle to turn them into one of the Prem’s big hitters.

Rakuten pulled the plug on Barca as the Spaniards brought back legendary midfielder Xavi as manager.

His return was confirmed last night following Ronald Koeman’s sacking.

But Barcelona’s misery on the field continued as they were held to a 3-3 draw by Celta Vigo on Saturday.

The LaLiga giants were 3-0 up before surrendering the win, which saw Vigo net a 96th minute equaliser.

And star forward Ansu Fati is facing another spell on the sidelines despite only just returning from ten months out.

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