The Christian cross has been removed from the club crest of Spanish football team Real Madrid on its clothing sold in areas in the Middle East.

Marka, a retailer based in the United Arab Emirates, now holds exclusive rights to "manufacture, distribute and sell Real Madrid products", the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

Marka's vice chairman Khaled al-Mheiri said that the football club had two variations of its crest for its Middle East market and had opted to use the one without the cross for the sake of cultural sensitivity.

"We have to be sensitive towards other parts of the Gulf that are quite sensitive to products that hold the cross," al-Mheiri said.

Marka will sell and distribute in six countries: the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. They are all Muslim-majority nations. Marka will begin its sales of T-shirts, swimwear and sportswear by March, according to al-Mheiri.

The original traditional Real Madrid logo features a small cross above a crown on its crest, making the required change relatively minor. The logo change does not apply to replica shirts in Dubai, on which the crest still bears the symbol of the cross.

A similar logo change occurred in 2014, when Real Madrid removed the cross from its crest when used by its sponsor the National Bank of Abu Dhabi.

Real Madrid did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Additional reporting by Reuters.