Real Madrid President Florentino Pérez reportedly "reached an agreement in principle" with U.S. firm Providence Equity Partners for the sale of the team's Internet image rights for €500M ($534.8M) over the next 10 years, according to José Antonio Navas of EL CONFIDENCIAL. The negotiations between Real Madrid and Providence "have been carried out in recent weeks with mediation from Key Capital Partners." It would be a bet by Providence that "once acquired, Real Madrid's Internet image rights could be monetized in the short term." Despite winning its 11th European Championship last summer, Real Madrid recently lost its position atop Deloitte's annual "money league" report, falling to third behind ManU and Barcelona after 11 years at No. 1. The "details of the deal with Providence are being carefully guarded by both Real Madrid and the financial firms." Sources said that Pérez "wants to finalize the agreement because he knows there will be presidential elections after the current season." In '11, Providence acquired 25% of Soccer United Marketing, the marketing arm of Major League Soccer (EL CONFIDENCIAL, 2/7).
