Emirates Extends Sponsorship of Real Madrid

The announcement was made by H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline & Group and Florentino Perez, Club President of Real Madrid at the iconic Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. The newly branded kit was introduced shortly after the announcement, and the white jersey will be worn by players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos, Iker Casillas and Karim Benzema.

The ‘Fly Emirates’ logo will appear on the front of Real Madrid’s playing and training kits. The new agreement also contains a number of additional hospitality rights, including a branded VIP Lounge at the stadium, additional player access and further advertising rights. Emirates will also continue to enjoy highly visible branding at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

“The announcement of our shirt sponsorship propels our relationship with Real Madrid to a whole new level. Aligning ourselves with an international powerhouse like Real Madrid helps to amplify our brand message by creating more meaningful connections with sports fans around the world. In this case, we are engaging with one of the largest fan-bases in the world,” said H.H. Sheikh Ahmed.

“The Club has been a key catalyst in the growth of our brand and business in Spain and we are confident that the new shirt sponsorship will continue our momentum of integrating our brand with the iconic Real Madrid brand, generating authentic fan experiences around the world,” added H.H. Sheikh Ahmed.

“Today, we are entering a new era as Emirates will become the Real Madrid shirt sponsor for the next five seasons, putting its signature brand name on our jerseys. This strategic alliance will have worldwide reach because our organizations touch millions and have a massive following. We are confident about what the future holds for our two global brands who see no obstacles and we are both passionate about leading the way in everything that we do,” said Florentino Perez.

“This key decision is significant for our team and it will allow us to continue competing at the highest level worldwide and face challenges with the determination to succeed as Real Madrid always does. Emirates is without a doubt a perfect partner for us, and a global airline operating to a broad network of destinations, bringing us closer to our fans on all continents,” added Mr Perez.

Real Madrid is considered to be the most successful club in football, winning a record 32 La Liga titles, 18 Spanish “Copa del Rey” Cups, eight Spanish Super Cups, a record nine UEFA Champions Leagues, two UEFA Cups, one UEFA Supercup and three Intercontinental Cups.

Real Madrid has been part of Emirates’ impressive sponsorship portfolio since 2011. The Club was recently named the “World’s Most Valuable Football Team’ by Forbes magazine and has established itself as a major force in the sport. With a global fan base of 500 million, and a massive social media following of over 40 million Facebook fans and 8 million Twitter fans, the Club has touched fans and spectators in every corner of the globe.

Emirates’ football sponsorship portfolio includes a number of high profile teams and events including FIFA, Arsenal FC, AC Milan, Paris Saint Germain (PSG), Hamburger SV, Olympiacos FC, Arsenal Soccer Schools Dubai, The Emirates Cup and Zain Saudi Professional League.

Emirates is also the Official Airline and Partner of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the governing body of Asian football, and has sponsorship rights to all its tournaments, including the AFC Champions League, AFC Cup and the AFC Challenge Cup, as well as a number of women’s and youth events.

Emirates recently sponsored the Barcelona Open tennis tournament, the oldest tennis tournament in Spain and one of the most prestigious clay court tournaments on the ATP circuit, in a deal that will run until 2018.