Microsoft forms partnership with the Spanish football club

Nov 19, 2014 13:10 GMT  ·  By

As announced yesterday, Microsoft signed a deal with Spanish football club Real Madrid CF which, according to the company, “accelerates the digital transformation of the club through technology.”

As part of the deal, Microsoft will provide the entire Real Madrid CF squad and staff with Surface Pro 3 tablets and other company devices, which is clearly quite a big achievement for Microsoft given the fact that the Spanish football club currently owns some of the best players in the world, including Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who participated in the press conference with a video message, explained that company services and devices would thus become available to the “millions of Real Madrid fans worldwide” directly through the partnership between the two organizations.

“Amazing things can happen by providing people with the right tools, just when they need them in order to interact, create or share everything they can imagine,” Nadella said.

Online services for Real Madrid fans

Microsoft says that it would develop a new digital platform that would enable Real Madrid fans to virtually access the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, no matter if they want to do it before, during, or after a specific game.

“The aim of this technological initiative is to make Madridistas the real stars of their own experience by allowing them to view and consume the content they want and also create and share it with their friends on social media and other digital channels,” Microsoft explained.

There’s no doubt, however, that the biggest win for Microsoft is the fact that all players and coaching staff will get access to Microsoft services and devices, such as the Surface Pro 3, so don’t be too surprised if you see players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale holding Surface tablets in their hands.

It’s pretty clear that such an agreement greatly improves Microsoft’s reputation on the Old Continent and helps the company not necessarily sell more devices, but at least make more people aware of their existence.

The Surface Pro 3 is already available in Europe with the help of Microsoft partners, but sales on the continent are still below those in the United States, where Microsoft has already signed deals with large companies that have adopted the tablet for their employees.

The Surface Pro 3 comes with 12-inch screen and three different CPU configurations, ranging between Intel Core i3 and Intel Core i7. Storage space goes all the way up to 512 GB for the top-of-the-range model, while RAM memory can be boosted to 8 GB. Pricing might surprise some people, as the top version can be yours for $1,950 (1,500 euro).

Show Press Release

Real Madrid CF (6 Images)

Real Madrid squad
Real Madrid star Cristiano RonaldoReal Madrid squad
+3more