Real Madrid of La Liga have agreed to an investment of 360 million euros (about $380.7 million) from the U.S. firm Sixth Street, the club announced on Thursday.
"As part of the long-term partnership, Real Madrid will receive approximately €360m to be invested across any of the Club's activities. Through this alliance, Sixth Street acquires the right to participate in the operation of certain new businesses of the Santiago Bernabeu stadium for 20 years," Real said in the statement.
The elevation of Real's home stadium includes a roof and retractable pitch among other things and will cost about 800 million euros (about $845.9 million) in total and shall be completed by the end of 2022.
Real used to be one of the biggest spenders on the European football transfer market but has remained quiet for two seasons. That may change this summer as the transfer drama of Kylian Mbappe is coming to an end. There has been news about Mbappe joining Real after the 2021-22 season since before the season even began. Rumors about his salary and signing bonus have changed almost every one or two months.
However, meanwhile, news about Mbappe staying at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) began to hit headlines of sports news outlets since the beginning of 2022. The development of the situation has been torturing both teams and their fans. PSG suffered less because their season was basically over, but Real are about to play against Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League Final at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France on May 28, and thus, cannot afford to be distracted.
Carlo Ancelotti, manager of Real, said his team will not be affected by the speculations of signing Mbappe.
"We're used to these things," Ancelotti said at a press conference on Thursday. "We're focused. The atmosphere is very good. What happens outside, and what's talked about, doesn't affect us at all."
"Nobody asks me about [Mbappe]. I spend my time at [Madrid's training ground] Valdebebas, in my car and at home. Sometimes I like to go to Madrid's good restaurants, but nobody asks me about that... The only thing I have in mind is the final," he added.
Liverpool are the better team on paper compared with Real, but so are Manchester City, Chelsea and PSG except they all lost to Real in the Champions League semifinals, quarterfinals and Round of 16 games.
Real have already claimed the La Liga title at the end of April while Liverpool are still chasing City close for the Premier League championship. "Liverpool have had more difficulties than us, playing important matches," Ancelotti said. "We have had more time to think about it, but in the end I don't think it will affect the teams."