Real Madrid ditch Christian cross on logo after deal with Middle East bank

In a rather shocking announcement on Thursday, Real Madrid revealed that they will no longer have a small Christian cross on their logo.

The reigning European champions have signed a huge three-year “strategic alliance” deal with the National Bank of Abu Dhabi and will in turn change their logo to not offend their new partners.

Their logo will remain the same in Europe, but with a huge commercial drive about to get underway in the United Arab Emirates the Spanish club believed it would be better to not offend the Muslim beliefs of the UAE.

This move will shock many fans of the Spanish powerhouse, as Real have been in existence since 1902 and have had the royal crown (with a Christian cross on it) on their logo since 1920 but it was removed from 1930-1941. Since 1941 the Christian cross has remained, but now Real will have a different badge in the UAE.

Spanish publication Marca state that “the club is willing to compromise on aspects of its identity in pursuit of these new fans.” Have they got a point?

With the world becoming a smaller place all the time and with the biggest teams int he world signing sponsorship deals with companies from many difference countries where many different religions are commonplace, should their identity be altered in this way?

Yes, the cross will only be removed in the Middle East. But should Real have to do that? ProsoccerTalk