Santiago Bernabeu Naming Rights Worth €500 Million

2014-09-23T06:00:00.000-04:00

According to reports from Marca, Real Madrid is close to a deal that would see them sell the Santiago Bernabeu stadium naming rights for about 500 million euros.

The stadium is currently named after former player and President, Santiago Bernabeu, who was largely responsible for Real Madrid’s to prominence in European football during the 20th century. This deal if indeed goes through, will be something that not every Real Madrid fan and purist will see as a positive. While the money injection to the Real Madrid safes will be important, losing the epic and iconic name of Santiago Bernabeu, in replacement of something else will not be an easy pill to swallow for most.

The Spanish newspaper, Marca, reports that the deal could be reached with International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), which is owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi. It would a 20 year contract, worth around 500 million euros which turns out to be about 25 million euros per year until 2034.

IPIC also owns the Spanish multinational oil company CEPSA (Compañía Española de Petróleos), so when looking at possible names for the stadium, CEPSA could be one of the names or even Abu Dhabi, since the oil company is owned by the government of the country as I mentioned above.

Real Madrid will be using the money to refurbish the stadium, and the new name won’t be agreed upon until the work on the stadium is completed. There is a possibility of a merger of names that would still see Santiago Bernabeu on the name with the addition of another name to it. Florentino Perez knows that the fallout from changing the stadium name could be massive, but he also knows that the club needs the funds to be able to refurbish the stadium.

Selling of the naming rights to a stadium is very common in modern football, most teams have taken that path, but fans do not always want to see it happen, especially when you are talking about a stadium as iconic as Bernabeu. It won’t be an easy sell for Perez, but perhaps the solution will come by having two names associated with the stadium allowing the current one to still be part of the new stadium name.

I hate to see stadiums like this lose their name over a large sponsorship deal, but I also understand the business side of it. Having said that hearing commentators like Ray Hudson calling a game and referring to the stadium as CEPSA stadium or Abu Dhabi stadium will be without a doubt strange.

Can Toni Kroos Make The Difference?

2014-07-17T18:00:00.000-04:00

Real Madrid is looking at rebuilding their squad and use Toni Kroos as their center piece.

The move from Bayern Munich to Real Madrid was being speculated in the media for quite some time, so it was no surprise that finally today, Toni Kroos was unveiled as Real Madrid first big signing of this offseason. The German midfielder fresh from winning the World Cup in Brazil with Germany, was at the Santiago Bernabéu today in front of ten thousand fans holding a number 8 jersey.

When you play for Bayern Munich and you looking at moving somewhere else there aren’t many options available for you, Real Madrid and Barcelona are probably two of three places you could go and be seen as making a step up in your career. So when Toni Kroos decided that it was time for a new experience the logic choice had to be Real Madrid, but was that a smart choice?

Real Madrid needs to renovate some of their midfield players like Xabi Alonso and Kroos could be someone that they could slot in that midfield role and play alongside Khedira, if he is to stay in Madrid, plenty of rumors circulating about his possible departure. When Ozil left last year I don’t think Real Madrid was truly able to fill in that hole and find a player that could give them the same dynamic that Ozil did, Kroos could become that player.

I don’t think Kroos is going to have any difficulties gaining a spot in that team and being able to adapt to his new surroundings. He is a great player, versatile, good with the ball and that can appear around the box and finish. For players like this you always find room. He can be a general in the midfield, and I believe it will be his midfield for years to come, since I don’t expect Xabi Alonso to have the same dynamic and be able to last a long La Liga season without some knocks and injuries. While Kroos won’t be the most brilliant and flashy player on the field, for that they have Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and possibly James Rodriguez, he will be the center of the team, the brain and the midfield boss that lacked during some stretches last year.

From all the insane money Real Madrid has spent on players over the last couple of decades, the 30 million euros spent on Kroos will turn out to be a bargain and one of the best investments made by Real Madrid.

Below is the video of Toni Kroos being presented to the fans at the Bernabéu:

FOOTY FAIR

Santiago Bernabeu Naming Rights Worth €500 Million

Can Toni Kroos Make The Difference?