Real Madrid agrees mammoth contract with Legends

Nick Scialpi01/02/2022 5:55 am31/01/2022

Real Madrid has strengthened its connection with Legends – a food, beverage, merchandise, retail and stadium operations. The two parties have agreed a long-term deal for the commercial exploitation of the revamped Estadio Santiago Bernabéu.

The Spanish powerhouse penned a 25-year contract with US-based company Legends, through which they will be entitled to 20% of the profits from a new company managing the Bernabéu, subject to the amount of income targets achieved.

In short, Legends will reportedly inject $238 million, expandable up to between $637m and $700m into the project, subject to Real delivering on stadium-related objectives.

This ensures a strengthening in collaboration, with Real and Legends having already teamed up in July 2020 to launch a flagship store at the Bernabéu. Legends has outlined that the Bernabéu has the potential to generate the aforementioned $637m to $700m per year in revenue through the staging of events and other commercial activities at the stadium.

This is a significantly large increase compared to Real Madrid President Florentino Perez’s predictions, as he recently mentioned of the new Bernabéu’s potential to add a further $238m per year to its current income levels of around $318m.

Last month, Real confirmed that the redevelopment of the Bernabéu would receive a second injection of financing, stating the conditions it had secured represented the “best ever obtained” for a long-term arrangement in the sports industry.

The announcement confirmed earlier reports that Real had agreed a deal to raise the necessary funds to complete the redevelopment of the Bernabéu, and at a lower cost than the previous financing package it took out.

It was revealed in May 2020 that Real’s transformation project for the Bernabéu would include the installation of a retractable pitch, with such a system enabling extra events such as concerts.

The redevelopment project is expected to be completed at the beginning of 2023, with the costs having increased beyond the originally intended budget of between $1.27 billion and $1.43 billion.

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Victory unites with Roasting Warehouse in culture-led partnership

Patrick Irving16/04/2026 8:55 am16/04/2026

Image credit: Melbourne Victory

The Melbourne-based anf family-owned business will join the Victory family, uniting two institutions which represent the city’s culture and identity.

A partnership with local roots

As the newest partner of Melbourne Victory, Roasting Warehouse joins forces with a vital part of the city’s sporting landscape.

The club’s Managing Director, Caroline Carnegie, outlined why the partnership bears so much value to both parties.

“We are excited to collaborate with Roasting Warehouse, a community-oriented destination for high-quality coffee, proud of its foundations in Melbourne,” said Carnegie via official media release.

“Football and coffee sit at the epicentre of Melbourne’s culture. The two go hand-in-hand, consistently at the centre of the conversation that stirs Melburnians, which is no different to the conversation sport and Melbourne Victory stir in the State.”

Indeed, this is a partnership which combines the identity, passions and culture of an entire city, therefore giving it the foundations required for long-term, mutual success.

Representing the best of Melbourne

Both Victory and Roasting Warehouse are hugely successful in their respective industries. They are institutions with community-oriented philosphies, who pride themselves on craft and quality.

“We’re incredibly proud to partner with Melbourne Victory, a club that represents the heart, passion, and ambition of Melbourne,” revealed Roasting Warehouse Head of Brand, Alexander Paraskevopoulos.

“As a Melbourne-founded, family-run business, supporting a team that means so much to the local community feels very natural for us.”

Furthermore, through their high-quality blends, Roasting Warehouse will look to prepare Victory’s players and staff for high performances on the pitch as the seasons nears completion.

But this is about far more than just fueling athletes.

This is a partnership which embodies and unites two of Melbourne’s greatest strengths and cultural markers – a connection forged from the city’s very own DNA.

For more information about Roasting Warehouse, click here.

Marie-Louise Eta makes history as new Union Berlin head coach

Patrick Irving15/04/2026 6:05 am14/04/2026

Image credit: FC Union Berlin

In an historic appointment, Eta will take over as head coach of Union Berlin until the end of the season.

History in the making

Previously the first female assistant coach in Bundesliga history with Union Berlin, Eta will now take the reigns of the men’s first team on an interim basis.

Currently, the club sit in 11th place in the Bundesliga table, but with only two wins so far in 2026, relegation appears an all-too-real prospect, and one which the club is desperate to avoid.

“Given the points gap in the lower half of the table, our place in the Bundesliga is not yet secure,” said Eta via official media release.

‘I am delighted that the club has entrusted me with this challenging task. One of Union’s strengths has always been, and remains, the ability to pull together in such situations.”

Eta will begin as Union’s new head coach with immediate effect, and will be in the dugout for the club’s matchup against Wolfsburg this weekend.

A step into an equal future

Eta’s appointment signals a major step towards a more level playing field in the football landscape.

Furthermore, Eta joins other coaches including Sabrinna Wittmann, Hannah Dingley and Corinne Diacre who, in recent years, have blazed a trail for female coaches to step into the men’s game.

Wittmann currently manages FC Ingolstadt in Germany’s third division, and was the first female head coach in Germany’s top three divisions.

In 2023, Dingley became caretaker manager of Forest Green Rovers, and thus the first woman to lead a men’s professional team in England.

Diacre, now head coach of France’s women’s national team, managed Ligue 2’s Clerment Foot between 2014 and 2017.

Final thoughts

The impact therefore, is that Eta’s appointment will show future generations of aspiring female coaches that men’s football is an equally viable and possible pathway as the women’s game.

The time is now to level the playing field.

And while it may be a short-term role, its effect on attitudes towards equality and fair opportunities in the game will hopefully resonate long after the season ends.