Electric_Eels
Juniors
- Messages
- 358
http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/5479150
AIG President and Chief Executive Martin J.Sullivan (seated L), Manchester United chief executive David Gill (seated center), and team manager Sir Alex Ferguson (seated R), attend the press conference at Old Trafford. The United players wearing the new shirts are standing at rear are from L to R — Patrice Evra, Wayne Rooney, Gary Neville, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kieran Richardson. (Martin Rickett / Associated Press)
Man United signs shirt deal with AIG
Manchester United signed a four-year, 56.5-million-pound (US$99.3 million; €80.6 million) shirt sponsorship deal - a record in British soccer - with New York-based global insurance company American International Group Inc.
"This is a deal that is right for Manchester United and it underlines our position as the world's leading club," Man United's chief executive David Gill said Thursday. "This is a blue chip deal for a blue chip club."
AIG is among the world's largest insurance companies.
The deal, which goes into effect at the beginning of next season, extends the American influence on the storied club. The club is owned by American billionaire Malcolm Glazer, who took over the club last May for 790 million pounds (US$1.38 billion; €1.12 billion). Glazer also owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL. Manchester United's playing uniforms are made by Nike Inc., based in Beaverton, Oregon. AIG president and chief executive officer Martin J. Sullivan said the deal would benefit both organizations.
"We look forward to maximizing the value of this high-profile sponsorship to help grow AIG's businesses around the world," he said.
AIG will be only the third company to grace United's shirts. Japanese electronics company Sharp was Man U's shirt sponsor for 18 years until telecommunications giant Vodafone took over in 2000. "The Manchester United shirt is the most iconic image in world sport and the chance for companies to appear on it is very rare," Gill said. "This deal re-establishes the club firmly among the most valuable names in world sport." United's contract overshadows the 50-million-pound (US$87.8 million; €71.3 million), five-year sponsorship deal Chelsea signed with South Korean electronics firm Samsung in April 2005. Italian club Juventus has the world's most lucrative shirt deal, a five-year contract worth 110 million euros (US$135.3 million) with Libyan oil company Tamoil.
In November, Spain's Real Madrid agreed to a five-year shirt deal worth 100 million euros (US$122.2 million) with Taiwanese cell phone company BenQ Mobile starting next season. Vodafone announced in November it was terminating its deal with United two years early, then signed a three-year agreement to sponsor the European Champions League.
The Vodafone deal with United was worth 9 million pounds (US$15.5 million; €13.1 million) per year. Vodafone canceled its deal a month before United was eliminated from the Champions League after the group stage for the first time in 10 years. "At the time Vodafone pulled out, the takeover was still casting a shadow over everything that was going on here," Anson said. "Coupled with the performance on the pitch, it meant there was a lot of negativity.
"But I think we are through the storm now. The whole environment is far more positive than it was six to nine months ago."
Thursday's announcement came three days after United broke off talks with betting company Mansion on a potential 70-million pound (US$121.6 million; €100.4 million), four-year sponsorship deal.
Glazer's three sons are on the Man U board and took the club off the London Stock Exchange into private ownership.
"The Glazer family are not obsessed about money," United's commercial director Andy Anson said. "They are obsessed about the long-term positioning of Manchester United as a football club. "We could have taken a bigger deal but we didn't. With the Glazer family's full backing, approval and awareness we took the deal which was right for Manchester United." Bryan Glazer was involved in negotiations and while present at a news conference announcing the deal, did not comment.
