Report: Santiago Bernabeu to be renamed

Sid Lowe reports that Real Madrid president Florentino Perez:

was caught on camera admitting to a member of the regional government that the stadium will be called whatever the Abu Dhabi investment group IPIC want it to be called.

Real signed a deal with IPIC (International Petroleum Investment Company) last October that will ultimately see the emirate based investment company, owners of Spanish petroleum concern Cepsa, fund the planned redevelopment of the Bernabeu.

Perez was heard to have explicitly said, somewhat cavalierly it seems:

"We’ll call it IPIC Bernabéu or whatever they want … or Cepsa Bernabéu,"

AS is reporting that the stadium is likely to be renamed the Abu Dhabi Bernabeu after IPIC was rejected. This is further evidence of the increasing Asian investment in Spanish football, as Madrid's bitter crosstown rivals Atletico also recently announced that the Chinese based Wanda Group would invest 45 million Euros into the club, assuming a 20% ownership stake.