Riyadh Air, Spain's Atlético de Madrid announce multi-year partnership

DUBAI : New Saudi Arabian airline Riyadh Air and Spanish soccer club Atlético de Madrid announced a multi-year sponsorship agreement in a joint statement on Thursday.

As part of the deal, Riyadh Air will become the main sponsor of the Spanish club.

"This partnership means a great opportunity to offer better experiences to our fans around the world and I am confident that this alliance with Riyadh Air will take our club to new heights," Atlético de Madrid CEO Miguel Ángel Gil said in the statement.

The statement cited Riyadh Air's Chief Executive Tony Douglas as saying "with this agreement we are once again surprising the world as we move towards our inaugural flight in 2025."

The statement did not give the value of the sponsorship deal.

Riyadh Air, which will start flights in 2025, is owned by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF).