Plans for a Real Madrid theme park in Madrid look set to become a reality, after club president Florentino Perez had confidential meetings with an “American company” earlier this month to scope out plans for the project.

Spanish football news outlet Marca says Perez has been planning to develop a theme park since he took charge of the club in 2009.

The paper revealed the Blancos chief met with an unnamed company on 15 May to finalise plans.

The project is likely to include a number of rides and attractions, as well as an area where Real Madrid fans will be able to meet the team’s players.

The club will build the attraction on a 90 hectare (222 acres) site in Valdebebas – an urban development in Madrid which will have homes for 40,000. The site is adjacent to Real’s training facility.

The theme park is expected to attract as many as two million visitors a year.

Real Madrid’s also has plans for a US$1bn (£632m, €756m) complex to be built in Ras al-Khaimah in the UAE offering a host of hotels, sporting facilities and residential developments.