Until now, that is.
Sports daily Marca reported on Saturday that Bilbao have signed a lucrative contract with Basque oil refinery Petronor to carry their shirt publicity for the next three seasons.
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The deal is to be made official on Tuesday evening, when the club will show off its shirts for next season. The famous red-and-white stripes will continue, but now with Petronor written across them.
Marca said that the shirt deal will earn the famous "Basque Lions" around 1,5 million euros per season.
This is one of the ideas of new club president Fernando Garcia Macua to increase revenue and he seems to have the approval, albeit reluctant, of most club members.
Supporters of Los Leones will be split, because they recognise that €1.5m-per-season will help ensure that the team can be strengthened, while traditionalists will ask why things have had to change now.
The Basque Country club have always been proud of the fact that they have never carried a company name on their jerseys and even now manufacture their own kit.
But economic constraints have made the introduction of a sponsor a must and a deal with local company Petronor has been agreed and signed.
Spanish energy giants Repsol, are the parent company to Petronor and their president, Antoni Brufau, is expected to attend the official announcement on Tuesday.
