Atlético Madrid has unveiled Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda as the naming-rights partner for its new stadium, which the Spanish LaLiga football club is scheduled to move into next year.
The stadium’s official name will be the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano.
Terms of Atlético’s agreement with Wanda, which owns a 20 per cent stake in the club, were not disclosed, although Spanish newspaper AS reported that the deal will earn the club a minimum of €10m ($10.7m) per year.
Wanda paid €45m for a 20 per cent stake in the club in January 2015. It marked the first Chinese investment in a top-flight European football club.
Atlético’s chief executive Miguel Ángel Gil Marín said at the deal’s presentation today (Friday): “We are very excited by this deal. Atlético and Wanda are growing global brands that want to keep growing and reach even more places. Wanda is a strategic partner and our change in stadium is not an isolated event, it’s a step forward to the future.”
Atlético’s 70,000-capacity stadium, a redeveloped former athletics venue, is due to be ready in time for the 2017-18 LaLiga season.