The UEFA Champions League is arguably one of the most significant and respected in football, hosting a live audience of more than 160 million people a year and having a following of more than 100 million people on social media.

Banco Santander has announced that Brazilian footballer Ronaldo Nazário as a brand ambassador, in light of the bank becoming the official sponsor of the Champions League in the 2018-19 season

Santander has also launched a campaign, showcasing how football can positively affect people’s lives called ‘Football Can.’ With those campaigns, the sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League and the signing of Ronaldo, Santander has put out a clear message of support for the sport, following years sponsoring the biggest competitions in Latin America.

Ronaldo was announced global ambassador the same day the Champions League draw took place. Juan Manuel Cendoya, senior executive VP of communications, corporate marketing and research at Santander says, “I am very happy that we are finally beginning our sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League, the best club-level competition in the world. It will allow us to reach new audiences and be closer to our customers throughout the world. We have just renewed Santander’s brand to make it more modern and digital, and this competition is the perfect showcase to make it known and reinforce the bank’s values of leadership, trust and innovation.”

Santander’s decision to become an official sponsor of UEFA for the following three seasons was announced in November. Santander has also announced its support of the ‘Common Goal’ movement, a non-profit organisation that offers financial support to organisations using football as a social transformation tool for people in need, powered by streetfootballworld.

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