Madrid: Emirates airline added its name to another football strip on Thursday with a deal to sponsor Spanish side Real Madrid for five years.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and Emirates chief executive Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum signed an agreement at the team’s Bernabeu Stadium in the Spanish capital, giving the Dubai carrier its fifth shirt sponsorship deal in European football. They also unveiled a new shirt design.
Emirates also sponsors the shirts of Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, Hamburger SV and AC Milan. The compay also has a sponsorship deal with Greece’s Olympiacos that does not include shirts.
“Both of us are at the top of our game and we are very proud to be associated with the most successful football team in the world,” said Shaikh Ahmad.
Real Madrid is the world’s richest football club, with an annual turnover of 513 million euros (Dh 2.4 billion). It is home to the world’s most expensive player Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as Karim Benzema, Pepe and Luka Modric, all of whom attended the signing to display the new strip.
Emirates launched daily flights to Madrid in 2010 and and began sponsorship of Real in 2011 with a stadium presence. Emirates also flies daily to the home of Real Madrid’s main rivals, Barcelona.
The deal does not give naming rights to the 85,000 capacity Bernabeu Stadium.
