It is no secret that the top football clubs in Europe are dependent on the many massive companies that are sponsoring them. We see the businesses' logos on our favourite teams' jerseys and the names of the impressive stadiums around Europe. In this article, we will take a closer look at a few of the most commonly spotted industries backing various clubs and putting their names on their stadiums.

The Casino and Betting Sponsors

In the last couple of years, sponsors from the world of gambling have become increasingly common. Nowadays, many clubs in Europe's top leagues are sponsored by betting sites or online casinos. To get a more in-depth knowledge of these kinds of platforms, you can use a comparison before you decide to visit them so that you don't waste your time on the lesser alternatives.

Among the 20 clubs in the British Premier League, eight of the teams have a company from the gambling industry as their main shirt sponsor, and in the Spanish La Liga, that number is seven out of 20.

When it comes to naming rights to various stadiums, we are yet to see more than a few examples where gambling companies have acquired the rights. One existing example is Stoke City's home ground, bet365 Stadium.

© Ben Sutherland

The Car Sponsors

In contrast to the gambling industry, larger car brands' can be seen on both jerseys and several stadiums. As kit sponsors, we have examples such as Chevrolet on the jerseys of Manchester United and Jeep on the jerseys of Juventus.

Examples of stadiums named after car manufacturers can be found all over the globe, but within European football, they are most common in the top tires of German football. In Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga, we can find stadiums such as the Opel Arena (FSV Mainz 05), Volkswagen Arena (VfL Wolfsburg), and Mercedes-Benz Arena (VfB Stuttgart).

The Finance Sponsors

That the finance industry has enough money to spend on stadium naming rights and becoming kit sponsors shouldn't come as a surprise – it is, after all, an area of business centred around money.

As with the car brands, examples of sponsors from the finance sector can be found all over the place. If you take a look at the different jerseys of teams within the top leagues in Europe, you are sure to find at least a couple of finance companies in each league.

Again, taking Germany as an example for the stadiums, we can currently visit grounds such as the Allianz Arena (FC Bayern München) and Commerzbank-Arena (Eintracht Frankfurt).

However, if we were to compare the stadiums in Europe with those in America, there are many more stadiums named after banks and finance companies in the United States.

The Airline Sponsors

The last industry we will take a look at is the one for air travel. Alongside the above-mentioned areas of business, the airline industry is among the most prevalent in sponsoring football clubs and their stadiums.

Etihad Airways and Emirates are two of the most prominent airlines with a strong presence within European football. Etihad is seen both as a sponsor on Manchester City's jerseys as well as in the name of the team's stadium, Etihad Stadium.

On the other hand, Emirates sponsors several of the top teams in Europe, including Arsenal and Real Madrid. They also have the naming rights to Arsenal's home ground, Emirates Stadium.

Apart from the already mentioned fields, the telecommunications market is yet another business area that has long been active in sponsoring football clubs.