Football's most lucrative stadium naming rights deals - ranked

Almost two years since their new stadium opened, Tottenham are still yet to find anyone to buy the naming rights to it.

The £1bn arena was initially opened as the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with the expectation that they could sell the rights to make some of the money back. However, due to several reasons including the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the world, they've been unable to do so.

The club have now hired someone specifically to find a naming rights partner, according to the Evening Standard, as they look to cash in on a huge global market. Lots of clubs across Europe have done similar, with Real Madrid and Barcelona also talking about doing it in the near future also.

But which clubs earn the most by selling their stadium name? Lets take a look..


5. Besiktas/Vodafone - £6m

Vodafone Park is the home Besiktas in Turkey | OZAN KOSE/Getty Images

Back in 2013 as Besiktas opened their brand new stadium, they signed a huge £105m deal with mobile phone network Vodafone.

The deal covered a range of sponsorships including the front of the shirt, advertising, stadium technological infrastructure rights, and the stadium naming rights up to 2028 if the extension options are taken up.

When the deal is broken down, Besiktas earn £6m a year to have the stadium known as Vodafone Park. Not bad.


4. Bayern Munich/Allianz - £6.4m

Allianz sponsor several stadiums across the world | JOERG KOCH/Getty Images

Bayern Munich's home ground is one of eight stadiums on four continents, including four football stadiums, that Allianz pay to name. It's reported that they pay around €30m a year in total for those naming right, including for Juventus' home stadium.

It's the German giants who take the largest chunk of that amount though, reportedly raking in £6.4m a year from the deal. The logo on the outside of the ground has to be covered on European nights though, since Allianz aren't an official UEFA sponsor.

3. Fenerbahce/Ulker - £7m

Ulker are probably not best pleased about how the stadium is globally known | OZAN KOSE/Getty Images

Considering Ulker pay £7m a year for the naming rights of the Fenerbahce home ground, they're probably not best pleased about the fact it's globally known by a different name.

It's most commonly referred to as Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, named after the club's former president. He was the owner of the club when they bought the stadium back in 1933, making them the first Turkish team to own their own stadium.

Officially though, it's the Ulker Stadium after the food brand.


2. Atletico Madrid/Wanda - £8.4m

Atletico Madrid's new home is sponsored by Chinese IT company Wanda | David Ramos/Getty Images

When the legendary Vicente Calderon Stadium was closed back in 2017, Atletico Madrid moved into the brand new Metropolitano Stadium as their new home.

Chinese IT company Wanda bought a 20% stake in the club and took over the naming rights of the training ground, but then agreed a deal with the Spanish club to take the stadium rights too. They pay £8.4m a year, with one of the terms of the deal being that they kept 'Metropolitano' in the name, in honour of the club's first home stadium.


1. Manchester City/Etihad - £15m

Etihad's deal with Manchester City is huge | OLI SCARFF/Getty Images

The biggest deal on the list is the one that was met with the most controversy at the time.

Etihad paid a huge £400m for a complete sponsorship package with Man City over a ten-year period, including shirt sponsorship and stadium naming rights. Many bemoaned the fact that it was way over valuation and claimed that City's owners used their relationship with Etihad's top dogs to get a bigger deal to circumvent FFP rules.

The deal is currently in its final year, although reports suggest it will be extended before it expires.



Source : 90min