China's social networking site extends sponsorship deal with Villarreal

Madrid, April 11 (IANS) Chinese social network site Renren extended its sponsorship deal with Spanish La Liga football club Villarreal.

As per the sponsorship deal, Villareal will wear Renren's name on their official shirts for their home league matches against Malaga and Real Sociedad, Xinhua reported.

The deal was signed signed Tuesday by Villarreal vice president Jose Manuel Llaneza, who is in China to promote the club.

The club's jerseys are also made by Chinese company Xtep and they also promote another Chinese social network site, Sina Weibo.

Villarreal have already made two trips to China. They played a friendly last May in Hong Kong and plan to have their pre-season training during summer in China. The Spanish side also recently played a friendly game against Chinese outfit Shanghai Shenhua and Shanghai player Feng Renliang also trained with the club.

The last time Villarreal played wearing the Renren logo, the move brought the club good luck as they earned a 1-1 draw at home to league leaders Real Madrid.

Coincidently Atletico Madrid also announced this week that their shirts will be sponsored by Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei for Wednesday's derby match against local rivals Real Madrid.