Stadium naming-rights deals for FC Barcelona or Real Madrid could net either of the Spanish LaLiga football rivals €36.5m (£31.1m/$40.4m) per year in additional income, according to a new study by valuation consultancy Duff & Phelps.
The report revealed that only 27% of the 98 clubs in European football’s top five leagues have stadium naming-rights partners.
Whilst 80% of German Bundesliga clubs have such sponsorship deals in place to lead the way in Europe’s ‘big five’, the percentage drops to 30% in the English Premier League and then 10% in Italy’s Serie A and France’s Ligue 1, followed by just 5% in Spain’s LaLiga.
The study estimated that, out of the 16 clubs that reached the knockout stages of the 2018-19 Uefa Champions League, Barcelona’s Nou Camp and Real’s Santiago Bernabeu would pull in market-leading figures for stadium naming-rights deals.
“Real Madrid and Barcelona offer interesting future naming rights prospects with both teams in the process of significantly upgrading their current stadiums,” the report stated.
Manchester United’s Old Trafford would lead the way in the Premier League with an annual stadium naming-rights value of €30.5m. Interestingly, Duff & Phelps estimated that a naming-rights agreement for Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium (€19.95m per year) would be more valuable than such a deal for Premier League rival Liverpool’s historic Anfield home (€19.25m). The two teams met in the final of last season’s Champions League, with Liverpool winning 2-0.
“With 73% of clubs not utilising their income streams to their full potential, significant revenue can be generated by securing a stadium sponsor,” the report added.
Six of the clubs listed in Duff & Phelps’ breakdown of the Champions League last 16 have naming-rights deals in place – Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Schalke 04 and Manchester City.
Image: FC Barcelona
