Real Madrid Reportedly to Rename Ground the Abu Dhabi Bernabeu

Not many things are sacred anymore in football, especially the naming of our great temples of the game.

And it now appears Real Madrid's home will face a commercial addition to its stadium title with reports saying Florentino Perez has identified and signed off on a financial opportunity.

Tomas Roncero of AS says the world famous ground is to be renamed the "Abu Dhabi Bernabeu," after the decision was made at a media day on Tuesday.

According to Roncero, Perez first spoke of a name change back in November, after local TV picked up initial comments from the Madrid club president to a politician.

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Perez was alleged to have said to Lucia Figar: "The Bernabeu will be called IPIC or Cepsa, whatever they want.”

The statement by Perez was in reference to a new sponsorship deal with Abu Dhabi—via the International Petroleum Investment Company, who are a third party investment company. 

Roncero says the idea of using the IPIC brand in the naming of the stadium was rejected but that "Abu Dhabi is to finance a percentage of the €500 million which will be spent in the remodelling of the new Bernabeu, paying an annual cost of €20 million per season to Real Madrid."

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Football purists will be saddened to hear of the name change, but in a world of big business and commerce, these events are more likely to happen.

The news could trigger a host of super-clubs following suit, as Madrid's decision will set a precedent and force rivals to raise similar funds to keep up with the European champions. 

The naming rights of the Camp Nou and Old Trafford would attract enormous investment, and surely it is only a matter of time before the inevitable happens.

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The Bernabeu opened in 1947 and has hosted the Champions League final on four occasions. It was originally renamed after former club president Santiago Bernabeu Yeste who transformed Madrid into the superpower that we know today.

The Mirror's Nooruddean Choudry commented about the change in the name of the stadium, and speculated on what the great man's thoughts would have been if he were alive today:

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Football's primary agenda is to secure the funds it needs to continue paying the incredible wages footballers earn at the highest level, and Madrid have identified an opportunity to keep the Galactico machine ahead.

Manchester United and Barcelona will now all follow suit, because if they do not, Los Blancos will have the edge on them when it comes to attracting players.

It is sad to see the iconic names in world football changed due to economics, but it is just a stark reflection of the world we live in today.

The Abu Dhabi Bernabeu does not slip off the tongue, but the football played on its pitch promises to be electric for the foreseeable future.