US software giant Microsoft has confirmed that it has held discussions with Spanish Liga football club Real Madrid over a potential naming rights deal for its Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
Real president Florentino Perez said last month that the club was in talks over a naming rights deal for its historic home, with Microsoft rumoured to be one of the companies targeted for such a deal.
María Garaña, president of Microsoft’s Spanish division, confirmed that the subject of naming rights had been raised in recent talks between the two parties.
“We are talking,” Garaña told Spanish television broadcaster Antena 3. “We have an excellent relationship with Real Madrid and in fact recently we signed an agreement with its (charitable) foundation. They have proposed to us, and to other companies, renaming the stadium, but we are only talking about this possibility.”
The 80,300-seat Bernabeu has undergone a number of renovations since it opened in 1947 and initial proposals for a new redevelopment were first revealed in September 2011.
The project is estimated to cost around €400m ($544m) and a naming rights deal has been considered a key part of financing the development.