McDonald’s is venturing further into football (Picture: Getty)
The top division of French football, Ligue 1, looks set to be rebranded as McDonald’s from the 2024/25 season onwards.
The competition will reportedly be renamed Ligue 1 McDonald’s after the American fast food giant agreed a £17m-a-year naming sponsorship deal, according to RMC Sport.
The league and its new partner still haven’t planned for how the public relations will be communicated given the narratives around fast food, the report adds.
The top flight has been branded as Ligue 1 Uber Eats since the 2020/21 season, with the online food delivery platform initially paying almost £13m to secure the naming rights.
McDonald’s in fact has a long history of football sponsorship deals, having sponsored FIFA tournaments since 1994.
Ligue 1 looks set for a rebrand (Picture: Getty)
The company is even the FA’s longest standing commercial partner, having been in partnership with the governing body between 2002 and 2022.
Ligue 1’s sponsorship agreement with McDonald’s could help to soften the financial blow of Kylian Mbappe’s impending move to Real Madrid.
The French sensation, who is out of contract with PSG at the end of the season, is undoubtedly the biggest star in the competition and Ligue 1 bosses will be loathed to lose a player of such economic importance.
Whilst Mbappe’s exit would be nothing short of a disaster for the division, Ligue 1 still boasts a number of other high-profile players including Achraf Hakimi, Ousmane Dembele, Gianluigi Donnarumma and former Arsenal and Chelsea star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Ligue 1 has developed a reputation in recent years as being a hot-bed for young talent, with some of the most promising young players on the continent having been afforded plenty of minutes in the league at an early age before moving on for significant fees in the transfer market.
PSG have dominated Ligue 1 for the past decade (Picture: Getty)
PSG are the most successful team in the history of the French first division, having claimed the title on 11 separate occasions.
Since the Qatari government-backed investment fund Qatar Sports Investments purchased the club in 2011, the Parisian side have won nine out of the previous 11 titles.
PSG are the current league leaders courtesy of a nine-placed lead over Brest, having won 16 of their 24 fixtures to date.