Real Madrid is the most successful football team in the world. Boasting enormous revenue of nearly $3.5 billion, it is among the richest in the business. The team has worn its legendary all-white strip since its establishment in 1902. The Royal Crown that sits atop its famous blue and gold crest along with the term ‘Real’, meaning ‘Royal’, were bestowed upon the club by King Alfonso XIII, and the club has been a flag bearer of the Spanish monarchy ever since. The team plays its home matches at the iconic Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, named after its legendary player.
The 1960 European Cup victory after demolishing Germany’s Eintracht Frankfurt 7-3, is considered one of the finest games ever played. Having won the top European competition an astounding 10 times, which is the highest by an individual club, the team has brought tremendous pride to the royal patrons of the club.
A club with such lofty financial and social stature would presumably be immune to pressures from outside. In 2011, the club banned all songs by Shakira from being played at the stadium after the singer officially announced her relationship with arch rivals Barcelona player Gerard Pique. The funniest part was that Shakira was a Madrid fan at heart, having been gifted the No.5 Galacticos jersey by President Florentino Perez.
The Real Madrid logo has a royal crown installed at its top by royal decree as its Spanish Kings were catholic. Even today Spain hasn’t moved from its medieval monarchial rule; with King Felipe VI succeeding his father King Juan Carlos I to the throne in June 2014. It would then seem absurd if the owners of Real altered the image of their national royal crown.
Yet, last week, the Real Madrid management signed a three year deal with the National Bank of Abu Dhabi allowing the logo to appear with the cross on bank issued credit cards. At the deal signing ceremony in September, which was attended by the club’s by top players, Florentino Perez explained:
“I know that the local people experience every match in a special way and that our links with the UAE are constantly growing stronger. This agreement will help the club keep conquering the hearts of followers in the United Arab Emirates.”
Ruben Jimenez of Marca reported the news and raised concerns about its implications. “From the looks of things, the club is willing to compensate on aspects of its identity in the pursuit of these new fans”, he wrote.
Reduced to fit on a credit card, the logo image would be so small that a cross would virtually be unnoticeable. Why bother- other than as a gesture of submission to their wealthy benefactors. The decision to alter the logo makes little practical sense.
If anything, Madrid’s removal of its cross should be more of an indignity to the Spanish Royal family than it is to Christian groups. The prestigious sports club which once defended the honour of the Spanish crown is now becoming a large global business, active throughout the world.
With many of the traditional European powers suffering from economic uncertainty at the moment, it is the Middle East that offers some of the best investment and partnership opportunities for globally recognized football clubs. Real Madrid is now rumored to have the money to expand Bernabéu Stadium after an agreement with the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), which is owned exclusively by the Abu Dhabi royal family. With the continuing tread of ‘Race to Dubai for Money’ could possibly add further changes to the club’s rich heritage, which has been the symbol of royalty for over a century.
Neither are the recent deals the first time Florentino Perez has done business with Middle Eastern companies, nor is it the first time the royal crown has been displaced from the Madrid badge.
Back in 2012, the club announced an agreement for the construction of a $1 billion Real Madrid themed resort island in the United Arab Emirates. Sports Magazine Marca noted that the crest displayed in promotional campaigns did not include the cross.
Through these movements, the pattern that emerges points to the fact that Real Madrid is not an institution seeking to promote Christian values but it is a football club and a business. The founding values of the club may not have been jeopardized by a minor alteration to their badge. It must be swallowed with a pinch of salt as it is simply the price to be paid for doing business in a market where the major money is not aplenty where it once flowed.
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A club with such lofty financial and social stature would presumably be immune to pressures from outside. In 2011, the club banned all songs by Shakira from being played at the stadium after the singer officially announced her relationship with arch rivals Barcelona player Gerard Pique. The funniest part was that Shakira was a Madrid fan at heart, having been gifted the No.5 Galacticos jersey by President Florentino Perez.
The Real Madrid logo has a royal crown installed at its top by royal decree as its Spanish Kings were catholic. Even today Spain hasn’t moved from its medieval monarchial rule; with King Felipe VI succeeding his father King Juan Carlos I to the throne in June 2014. It would then seem absurd if the owners of Real altered the image of their national royal crown.
Yet, last week, the Real Madrid management signed a three year deal with the National Bank of Abu Dhabi allowing the logo to appear with the cross on bank issued credit cards. At the deal signing ceremony in September, which was attended by the club’s by top players, Florentino Perez explained:
“I know that the local people experience every match in a special way and that our links with the UAE are constantly growing stronger. This agreement will help the club keep conquering the hearts of followers in the United Arab Emirates.”
Ruben Jimenez of Marca reported the news and raised concerns about its implications. “From the looks of things, the club is willing to compensate on aspects of its identity in the pursuit of these new fans”, he wrote.
Reduced to fit on a credit card, the logo image would be so small that a cross would virtually be unnoticeable. Why bother- other than as a gesture of submission to their wealthy benefactors. The decision to alter the logo makes little practical sense.
If anything, Madrid’s removal of its cross should be more of an indignity to the Spanish Royal family than it is to Christian groups. The prestigious sports club which once defended the honour of the Spanish crown is now becoming a large global business, active throughout the world.
With many of the traditional European powers suffering from economic uncertainty at the moment, it is the Middle East that offers some of the best investment and partnership opportunities for globally recognized football clubs. Real Madrid is now rumored to have the money to expand Bernabéu Stadium after an agreement with the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), which is owned exclusively by the Abu Dhabi royal family. With the continuing tread of ‘Race to Dubai for Money’ could possibly add further changes to the club’s rich heritage, which has been the symbol of royalty for over a century.
Neither are the recent deals the first time Florentino Perez has done business with Middle Eastern companies, nor is it the first time the royal crown has been displaced from the Madrid badge.
Back in 2012, the club announced an agreement for the construction of a $1 billion Real Madrid themed resort island in the United Arab Emirates. Sports Magazine Marca noted that the crest displayed in promotional campaigns did not include the cross.
Through these movements, the pattern that emerges points to the fact that Real Madrid is not an institution seeking to promote Christian values but it is a football club and a business. The founding values of the club may not have been jeopardized by a minor alteration to their badge. It must be swallowed with a pinch of salt as it is simply the price to be paid for doing business in a market where the major money is not aplenty where it once flowed.
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