Atlético Madrid Set To Rename Stadium As Sponsorship Deal Comes To An End

Written by Patrick Echatah

It’s been five years since Atletico Madrid moved into the Wanda Metropolitano, returning to an old site after many years at the iconic Estadio Vicente Calderon. It appears they will be playing in stadium with another name at some point next season though.

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Their sponsorship agreement for the naming rights of the Metropolitano stadium expire this summer and according to Diario AS, Chinese group Dalian Wanda have already told the club they won’t be renewing their offer.

Atleti do have ability to extend the deal for a determined amount of time as they look for a new sponsor, but will be keen to wrap up a new deal sooner rather than later.

The leadership at Los Colchoneros are happy to move on from Wanda as a sponsor too, with their eyes set on improving their revenue from the next deal.

The deal to name the stadium Wanda was spaced out over 5 years and brought in a total of €50m for the club. Atleti have continued to qualify for the Champions League and secured another La Liga title last season, which further solidified their growing prestige around the world.

This marks a further step in Atletico’s attempts to get closer to Real Madrid and Barcelona, which were shown most clearly by their initial joining of the European Superleague.

The gap between the big two and Atletico Madrid is still considerable, but with the Catalans in a precarious financial situation, it could be an opportunity to reel them in if things go well on the pitch.

Meanwhile…

Atletico Madrid are yet to manage any transfer business this summer but have started reshaping things from the bench. On Wednesday afternoon the club announced that Gustavo Lopez would be joining their coaching staff ahead of the coming season.

Lopez spent 12 years in Spain as a player, chiefly at Celta Vigo, as well as shorter spells at Real Zaragoza and Cadiz. Lopez was a sturdy striker and played for Argentina for 7 years too, where he crossed paths with manager Diego Simeone.

The past 12 years of his career have been as an analyst in Spanish football at Movistar+ and la SER, as per Diario AS. No further information was given in terms of the role he would occupy, but he joins Assistant Manager Nelson Vivas, Fitness Coach Oscar Ortega, Technical Assistant Hernan Bonvicini and Goalkeeping Coach Pablo Vercellone on the coaching staff.

(footballespana)

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