Ligue 1 McDonald's - fast food chain land French division naming rights in £17m annual deal

Fast food giants McDonald's are believed to have secured a £17 million annual deal for the naming rights of the top French footballing league Ligue 1. The division is set to become Ligue 1 McDonald's.

The league has been known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats since the food delivery company bought the sponsorship rights ahead of the 2020/21 season It is believed that Uber Eats had paid £12.8 million a season before renewing to extend the deal to the end of the current 2023/24 campaign for a higher £14.5 million.

French outlet RMC Sport now reports that McDonald's will fork out £17 million each season and prompt the already widely ridiculed name change. Ligue 1 introduced naming sponsorship in 2020 after feeling the strain of the Covid-19 pandemic and the fallout from a TV rights saga.

Ligue 1 generated an estimated revenue of €1.6 billion during the 2021/22 season and is home to some of the continent's biggest clubs including Paris Saint-Germain, AS Monaco, Marseille and Olympique Lyonnais. Footballing stars including Kylian Mbappe, Randal Kolo Muani and Ousmane Dembele all play in the league.

The Sun reports that the naming rights deal takes place amid a backdrop of complications surrounding broadcast rights. Former broadcasters Mediapro missed payments after falling into financial difficulties, having agreed a £700 million deal to show Ligue 1 fixtures each season.

Canal+ and Amazon then stepped in to share broadcasting rights but new deals have not brought in the funds projected when completing the deal with Mediapro. In January, Dazn emerged as a frontrunner to finalise a broadcasting deal for the 2024-2029 rights package.

The situation has placed extra importance on other revenue streams for Ligue 1, including the naming deal. However, the team-up with McDonald's has led to scrutiny online.

"We can never take this league seriously," one X user wrote. Meanwhile, other football fans branded the partnership as 'a joke' and labelled the division a 'clown league'.

Another user commented: "It's getting harder and harder to tell people to take this league seriously."

Someone even joked: "Man of the match award is a large Big Mac meal with a strawberry milkshake and nine nuggets on the side."