A report from Sport indicates that in the global football market landscape, where local fans spend money on season tickets to enter stadiums, few symbolic battles remain to be fought. For Real Madrid, concepts like "globalization" have taken precedence. Florentino Pérez uses this term to express his vision, which also aligns with the "Infinite Bernabéu" concept developed with Apple. Today, all of this has resulted in the stadium of the Casa Blanca losing the name "Santiago" on plaques and at the branding level, at least from the stadium's façade on the Castellana side.

A Bernabéu without Santiago

This venue has hosted 39 events that also retained the full name "Santiago Bernabéu," and the late president remains an indispensable figure for understanding the club's modern history. Today, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium has become simply the Bernabéu. The stadium itself remains the same one that opened in 1947, but its appearance has changed. The iconic towers, which were once inspired by the San Siro stadium, have been replaced by a metal roof.

The stadium renovation has been one of Florentino Pérez's key projects, and it is not yet complete. In recent days, machinery continues to work outside the Bernabéu Stadium. Next Wednesday at 9:00 p.m., Real Madrid will play their first home match of the season here. The illuminated letters spelling "Bernabéu" have already been installed during the new façade's launch phase, and the club's emblem will also be placed alongside them. Real Madrid fans have raised questions upon seeing the name appear alone.

Bernabéu itself is a brand, and the name is used everywhere from the still-under-construction metro station to various commercial projects within the stadium. However, the club still uses "Santiago Bernabéu Stadium" in some official communications. There is a distinction between institutional naming and brand presentation, but this does not diminish the visual impact of the new façade.

A name reserved for sponsors?

The shift to "Bernabéu" also raises another interpretation: is the club reserving a more concise and flexible brand for the potential introduction of a main sponsor? A format like "[Sponsor] Bernabéu" is indeed more commercially convenient than adding a brand to the full name "Santiago Bernabéu Stadium." However, Real Madrid has not confirmed any sponsorship negotiations or announced the sale of naming rights; this is purely speculation.

This is not new for Florentino Pérez. In 2014, when the club reached a financing agreement with the Emirati fund IPIC for stadium renovations, it is reported that the president mentioned the stadium could be called "IPIC Bernabéu" or "Cepsa Bernabéu" in the future. This idea never materialized as the stadium's name and later led to a legal dispute. Real Madrid lost a €4 million arbitration case against Mubadala, which acquired IPIC and controls Cepsa, stemming from breach of a 2014 contract to sponsor the club for several seasons.

This theory is also linked to agreements signed in 2022 with Sixth Street and Legends. Real Madrid received approximately €360 million from Sixth Street, which will operate part of the new stadium's business for 20 years, while Legends will provide expertise in managing large venues. However, the publicly disclosed contract did not include the transfer of the stadium's naming rights.

Santiago Bernabéu Stadium during a league match / Real Madrid

The renewal of Emirates' main sponsorship deal until 2031 also returns the airline to the theoretical list of candidates to be paired with the Bernabéu name someday. But again, there is no confirmation: this renewal only involves the club and shirt sponsorship. The reason for this speculation is the high economic value of this asset. A report from The Sponsor estimates that the annual value of the stadium naming rights in 2026 will be approximately €21.1 million, the highest in Europe.

Real Madrid's close collaboration with Apple, and the innovation center being prepared in Valdebebas, also suggest that any potential deals could lean toward the technology industry. Dropping "Santiago" could simply be to make "Bernabéu" a shorter, more internationally recognizable brand. But it also reserves the structure for future commercial partners. For a sponsor to genuinely enter the full name of the stadium would ultimately require a vote by club members.

This decision also contrasts with Florentino Pérez's statement at the 2022 Members' Assembly. At that time, a member proposed adding the current president's name to the stadium's name, to which he responded directly: "We will never change the name of Santiago Bernabéu Stadium." He was met with applause.

The club can emphasize that this promise still stands, since the official name has not been changed. What has changed is the external presentation and commercial use. However, the message conveyed by the renovated stadium is already clear: the name of the person who drove the stadium's construction has disappeared from the façade, leaving only the surname, which remains one of the most recognizable brands in world football.

Eight years without this trophy

The surname still dominates everything, but that person's presence is fading. Another monument built by the club around him is also disappearing: the Santiago Bernabéu Trophy. This event was founded in 1979, a year after the former president's death. His successor, Luis de Carlos, promoted this summer tournament to keep his memory alive. The first competition brought together Real Madrid and three European giants: Bayern Munich, Ajax, and AC Milan. Later, the format was reduced to a single match against an invited opponent, but it has always been a traditional family event for Real Madrid fans.

This was much more than a warm-up match. For decades, it was also how the team presented itself to its local fans. Like Barcelona's Joan Gamper Trophy, this event allowed supporters to meet new signings, see players again after the summer, and assess the team's condition before the official season began. It also produced special moments, such as in 2013, when Raúl returned with Al Sadd, playing for both teams during the match.

The last Santiago Bernabéu Trophy was held on August 11, 2018. Julen Lopetegui's Real Madrid defeated AC Milan 3-1, with goals from Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale, and Borja Mayoral, securing their 28th title in 39 editions. Since then, this tradition has not reappeared on the calendar.

Initially, there were temporary reasons for its absence. Stadium construction began in 2019, followed by the pandemic that forced the team to relocate to Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium, and the calendar became compressed due to new competitions. Later, these obstacles became habitual. In 2023, newspaper AS cited club sources saying Real Madrid hoped to revive the event, as it represents honor and tribute, but the schedule was too tight, requiring postponement. Three years have passed, and no restart date has yet emerged.

Traducido por IA.

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