Wanda Metropolitano. Cívitas Metropolitano. And now, Riyadh Air Metropolitan. The stadium of Atlético de Madrid changes its name again as part of the sponsorship agreement reached with the Saudi Arabian airline, and by which it will name the stadium for the next nine seasons. The company began serving as the club’s main sponsor in August of last year and now has rights naming, or naming rights.
As the club has pointed out in a statement, the movement represents the strengthening of the relationship between both brands, which It will extend until the 2033 season. The Riyadh Air logo has been displayed on the front of the men’s kits, as part of the alliance that was signed until 2027 for around 40 million annually.
The airline now becomes “the most important sponsor in the club’s history”. According to reports five days, the new agreement ranges between 250 million euros as a minimum and 300 million as a maximum, if certain sporting objectives are met.
The pact includes the team shirt sponsorship as in the naming of the field, which can be seen next October 20 against Leganés. Although the final implementation on the main, northeast and southeast facades of the stadium’s new name will take place in the coming weeks.
Riyadh Air thus displaces the real estate company Civitas, which has given its name to the stadium since 2022. As reported by the aforementioned media, the company has encountered problems when assuming the commitment to the Madrid team, which amounted to around 9 million euros per season, already ten years.
However, Atlético de Madrid has assured that the agreement reached with Grupo Cívitas will continue in force for at least the next five years, in which both entities will continue to collaborate. Thus, the part of the agreement linked to the naming rights of the field is terminated.
The arrival of Riyadh Air marks the third name of the Metropolitan. Before Cívitas, the Chinese group Wanda named the stadium in 2017, when Atlético de Madrid left the Vicente Calderón. That agreement was valued at approximately 9.5 million per season.
Now Riyadh Air and the Madrid club They expand an alliance that they assure is based on a shared passion for excellence, sustainability and technological innovation. “Both organizations are motivated to succeed at the highest level and having our name on such an iconic stadium will increase Riyadh Air’s recognition throughout the world of sport and beyond.“, commented Tony Douglas, CEO of Riyadh Air, in the statement.
For his part, Miguel Ángel Gil, CEO of Atlético de Madrid, has stated that he is proud and happy about the expansion of the alliance. “Thanks to Tony Douglas and his entire team for trusting Atlético de Madrid as a strategic partner for the launch and development of their ambitious global projectl”, he pointed out.
Riyahd Air was founded in March 2023, and belongs to PIF (Public Investment Fund), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign investment fund. It will begin commercial operations in summer 2025.
Riyahd Air joins a long sponsor list of Atlético de Madrid. Among those on the men’s team, Hyundai, Mahou, Cívitas, Movistar, Iryo, Tanqueray 0,0, Coca-Cola and Caixabank stand out: while among those on the women’s team you can find Herbalife, Google Cloud, and also Movistar, Iryo, Caixabank or Mahou.
The agreement between Riyadh Air and Atlético de Madrid shows the increase in the presence of Saudi Arabia in Spanish sport. And it is that LaLiga has also announced the agreement reached with Riyadh Seasonan event promoted by the country’s General Entertainment Authority (GEA). The entity will serve as the official global sponsor for three seasons.
