Banco Santander to Sponsor UEFA Champions League + Ends Complete Formula 1 Sponsorship

Banco Santander will become an official sponsor of the UEFA Champions League, it has been announced today. The agreement begins next season (2018/19) and runs for three years to 2020/21. Santander replaces UniCredit, who decided not to renew their partnership with UEFA.

At the end of this year, Santander will conclude its sponsorship of the Formula 1 racing team, Scuderia Ferrari, which it has sponsored for the last eight seasons (deal worth more than 30 million Euro / year). The bank will also conclude its corporate sponsorship agreements with F1 which have helped increase Santander's brand recognition around the world over the last 11 years.

Santander Replaces UniCredit As Champions League Sponsor

No financial details of the deal are known yet.

Banco Santander Executive Chairman, Ana Botín, and the country heads of Santander's ten main markets, signed the agreement in Brazil today alongside a UEFA representative. Two legends of football also participated in the event: Brazil's Ronaldo who was there in person and Pelé who appeared via video.

Ana Botín said: "Santander's partnership with the UEFA Champions League, the world's most global and aspirational sporting competition, builds on our support of Libertadores and, more recently, Racing Santander, the local football team of the Cantabrian city where our bank was founded 160 years ago. We love sport. Our free-time exercise, which we do to challenge ourselves to be better, the weekend match we watch with family and friends, our loyalty to a club and the excitement of the spectacle. Ferrari and F1, to whom we are very grateful, have played an important role at Santander over the past 10 years. We will continue our support of sport because it is a valuable way to contribute to the prosperity of the communities where we work."

Guy-Laurent Epstein, UEFA Events Marketing Director, said: "We're delighted to welcome Santander into the UEFA Champions League sponsor family and are excited to partner with one of the most distinguished and forward-thinking banks globally. There is natural fit between the UEFA Champions League and Santander, with the Bank being consistently recognised within the best global brands and, of course, with the UEFA Champions League Final remaining the most watched annual sporting event on the planet. The bank has a great heritage in sport and this partnership will allow the UEFA Champions League to further engage with football fans in Latin America and around the world."

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