Abu Dhabi is set to have its name in front of one of the world’s most iconic stadiums, the Santiago Bernabeu.
The Arab Emirate has sealed a financial partnership worth £15million a year with Real Madrid in November 2014 and will last a reported 20-year period. Diarios AS claims this deal includes the naming rights for the club’s stadium.
Microsoft and Coca-Cola were also in the race to win the rights, but Spanish energy Cespa – which is owned by the IPIC (International Petroleum Investment Company), which is owned by the Abu Dhabi government – beat both companies to it.
Although president Florentino Perez was caught on camera saying the stadium will be called “IPIC or Cespa, whatever they want”, AS reports the sponsors have settled for ‘Abu Dhabi Bernabeu’.
The stadium was originally named after former Real Madrid chairman, Santiago Bernabeu Yeste.
Comments