You are in > manchester.com  > News > United land record shirt deal

Manchester United news

United land record shirt deal

06/04/2006

Manchester United have today put pen to paper on the biggest shirt sponsorship deal in British football history.

The Red Devils have secured a four-year £56.5 million deal with US insurance giant American International Group (AIG).

The deal, worth £14.1 million a season, eclipses Chelsea's previous £10 million a season British record deal with Korean mobile phone giant Samsung, although it is considerably less lucrative than a proposed £17.5 million a season deal with gambling group Mansion, which United rejected earlier this week.

Man Utd chief executive David Gill insisted that the AIG tie-up represented a "blue chip deal" for the club, and revealed that AIG's strong presence in key emerging football markets in Asia and North America was a major reason behind agreeing the partnership.

"We’re looking to be more accessible to our global fan base, and having a partner with the knowledge and experience of AIG is invaluable," Gill said.

"AIG has over 250,000 employees and agents in Asia alone - a region where we have an estimated 40 million fans. This deal presents both of us with so many possibilities.”

He added that the club had turned down the Mansion deal as they did not believe association with a gambling organisation was in the best interests of the club.

"We passed up the opportunity to do the world’s biggest shirt deal, to do the right shirt deal," Gill said.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson also welcomed the deal and insisted that the lucrative new corporate tie-up would not affect his ultimate say as to transfers both into and out of the club.

"I’m delighted. It’s a fantastic partnership. It can be very good for us. The club wants to pick the right partner and I think we’ve done that," Ferguson said

"But, for me, it is always going to be about how improve as a team. I always look at that factor and then go to David [Gill] or to [United owners] the Glazer family and say 'this is the player we would like'. Then we assess how much it is going to cost, so nothing has changed in that respect."

The new sponsorship deal will come into effect this summer, when United's current £9 million a season deal with mobile giant Vodafone comes to an end.

© Adfero Ltd