Manchester United again proved its worth in front of the world by selling naming rights of its training kit as a part of its sponsorship deal with insurance firm Aon. Though, nothing has been officially declared by any of the two parties, but according to media reports, deal price is expected to be around $230 million. Recently, ManU has managed to make lots of money by signing various sponsorship deals outside its primary gaming activities and this one just shows how professional this club has become in past few years. The agreement is said to be for eight years term that starts from July and it empowers Aon to have its logo appeared on ManU’s training kits. Notably, same insurance firm also has a deal with Old Trafford club to imprint its logo on its official match kits, though that deal has recently been taken over by General Motors Co.’s Chevrolet for an astonishing $559 million that starts from 2014-15 season. According to other reports, ManU is also seeking partners for a new deal to name its training grounds at Carrington in south Manchester, though it nowhere seems to be interested in selling its main stadium’s naming rights.
Actually, ManU has made several significant money raising ventures via sponsorship deals with quite a few international partners even since it has been acquired by American Glazer family in 2005. Now, it is also a listed company in New York stock exchange; perhaps its stocks are also making lots of money for its investors. In the current EPL, Alex Ferguson team is on top with its comfortable lead by 15 points from its closest rival Manchester City and its brilliant performance off late is making them money rich which is obvious for any club having a business back and a solid strategic long term financial plan.
There were widespread protests against its owners for finishing last EPL season with empty hands, but this season, all those critics are appreciating Glazer family’s financial approach to make ManU as one of the richest clubs in the world; perhaps Forbes has already declared it a richest club in the word coz of its highest owner’s net equity. Approximately, ManU has gained around three billions to its net equity in last years which is unparalleled by any other club. The current deal is nowhere close to some of the biggest deals taken place recently, but this one is a good attempt to encash everything you can without losing your control over your sovereignty.