Real Madrid to rename Santiago Bernabeu to add sponsor's name for €500m

Real Madrid could rename the Santiago Bernabeu and add a sponsor’s name.

According to a report in Marca, Real Madrid are close to sealing the biggest deal in football history to rename the Santiago Bernabeu.

The stadium is currently named after ex-player and president Santiago Bernabeu who was largely responsible for Real Madrid’s rise in the 20th century into Europe’s most successful club.

Reports suggest that the deal could be made with the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) which is owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi, and that it would be in the region of €450-500m over 20 years – €25m per year until 2034!

Stadium name still not decided

The IPIC will be the body making the deal, but it is Abu Dhabi who is behind the deal. There is no confirmation on the name yet, but there are suggestions that ‘Abu Dhabi’ may appear along with ‘Bernabeu’ in the name.

The brand name CEPSA (Compañía Española de Petróleos), a Spanish multinational oil and gas company, is also a possibility as they are owned by the IPIC.

The name will not be agreed upon until the stadium is refurbished. The club has already signed a sponsorship deal with the National Bank of Abu Dhabi.

Money will be used to improve the stadium

The incoming revenue will help Real Madrid remodel the stadium and its facilities; with only a legal hurdle in the form of an appeal against the plan by the Civic Platform Neighbours Bernabeu in the way.

But Madrid are confident that they will win the case and will be allowed to go ahead with their plans to improve the stadium that has a capacity of over 85,000.

Club president Florentino Perez was concerned with how the fans would react to renaming the Santiago Bernabeu. But with such a lucrative offer on the table, there was no way he could refuse.

Other stadiums who have a commercial sponsor’s name in the stadium name include Arsenal (Emirates Stadium), Bayern Munich (Allianz Arena) and Manchester City (Etihad Stadium).