Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has confirmed that the club are still hoping to bring an extravagant theme park to the UAE with Abu Dhabi their preferred home.

Perez's comments come on the same day that rumours circulated in Spain that the club had agreed to sell the naming rights of the Santiago Bernabeu to International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), which is owned by the Abu Dhabi royal family.

Madrid paper Marca reported that the new stadium will be called Abu Dhabi Santiago Bernabeu at a cost of €450m and €500m (Dh2.1bn-Dh2.4bn) to IPIC over 20 years once the stadium is redeveloped.

Speaking about Madrid's general assembly, Perez said: "We're getting there. There has never been any economic cost to us. But instead of doing it in a small Emirate, we're trying to do it in a location in Abu Dhabi.

"We are continuing to advance plans for a theme park where the experience of living Real Madrid will be unique."

Last week the club had further strenghtened their bond with the UAE by announcing the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) as their official banking partner.

Plans for the $1billion "Real Madrid Resort Island" project were first revealed in March 2012 with the massive development planned to be built in Ras-al Khaimah but were shelved last year. 

Initial plans outlined for the island envisaged a multi-purpose leisure, retail and sport facility, built on a site of 50 hectares.

The intended centre piece of the resort was a 10,000 capacity all-seater stadium on the shores of the sea, with an amusement park, yacht club, marina and a Real Madrid museum.

Accommodation would be provided by a 450-room hotel, with a variety of restaurants and cafes also on site. 

It is believed that the new plans intend to replicate the style of Abu Dhabi's Ferrari World theme park.