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Report: Real Madrid's Stadium Naming Rights Deal Falls Through

Real Madrid is left searching for a new sponsor for its famed stadium.
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Spanish La Liga giants Real Madrid have been dealt a huge blow after a €400m naming rights deal for the Santiago Bernabeu has fallen through, according to Spanish outlet El Economista.  

Los Blancos were granted a license to redevelop their home last week, with chiefs at the club keen to add modern facilities, including a a state of the art retractable roof.

The redevelopments were to be financed in part by the biggest naming rights contract in football history with Spanish oil and gas giant Cespa.

However, Cespa have now withdrawn their £350m offer, which was originally agreed to in 2014, as majority shareholders believe that the project has been downscaled and the time-frame ignored. 

Real Madrid are now searching for a new sponsor, although it's unlikely that any offer will match Cespa's, and the consequent loss of investment will have a huge impact on how Florentino Perez conducts Los Blancos' summer business.

Real have been repeatedly linked with a record move for Spurs' Harry Kane, but they will now have to sell before they can buy; Ronaldo, Benzema and Isco could all leave the Bernabeu in the summer. 

Rumors started to spread in December that Ronaldo was unhappy in Madrid, and consequent contract negotiations were supposed to commence sometime in January with the 32-year-old looking for improved terms. That now looks very unlikely, and the Portuguese international may be forced to leave the club in the summer, as Los Blancos look towards future savings.