Barcelona may not renew their sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways when the current agreement ends next year, president Josep Maria Bartomeu has admitted. 

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The Catalan club have faced mounting criticism from fans for their links with the Qatar government, which owns the airline, in the wake of criticism over the country’s human rights record in the buildup to the 2022 World Cup.

Barcelona signed a five-year contract in 2011 worth 150 million euros (Dh626.5m) for the company to become the club’s first paid-for shirt sponsors but Bartomeu has conceded the increasingly unpopular deal may not be renegotiated.

“We will look at other options – we are obliged to do that," he said.

“It ends in 2016. We are sensitive to the current situation in Qatar, which has changed since four years ago. Now there are social and political aspects which were not there when we signed.

“We must be sensitive about what is happening and make the best decision for Barcelona. IMG (who work with the club on negotiating sponsorship deals) are studying it and working with us.”

Many fans are also unhappy that the club’s alliance with the airline was seemingly introduced by stealth as it superseded a former agreement with charitable organisation the Qatar Foundation, who replaced UNICEF on their jersey.

However, Bartomeu ruled out the prospect of the club returning to its former policy of gifting its shirt sponsorship to a charity, adding: “The situation in football has changed a lot.

“We must be competitive with other clubs. Now we have seen how the Chinese have come into Atletico Madrid and the Asians at Valencia.”

However, Bartomeu’s comments may prove to be redundant because he may not be in any position to decide the identity of the club’s next sponsor after presidential elections which will take place this summer.

The elections were called earlier this month following a turbulent period which saw the club receive a one-year transfer ban from FIFA, suffer allegations of tax evasion over the signing of Neymar, sack sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta and endure speculation that Lionel Messi wants to leave.

Indeed, Bartomeu’s comments could easily be interpreted as little more than a part of his election campaign as he attempts to regain some of the current board’s lost popularity with fans.