Manchester United sign England’s record-breaking sponsorship deal

Manchester United have signed one of the largest contracts in the history of the sport with a kit manufacturer. A new deal with Adidas, a long-time partner of Manchester United, will bring them £ 900 million over ten years. The deal is likely to improve the prospects of the club’s owners, the Glaser family, to go ahead with the idea of ​​selling the club, which came up last year.

Manchester United and Adidas announced about the extension of the sponsorship agreement. Under the new agreement, which comes into force in 2025, the German company will retain the status of the English club’s outfitter for ten years. During this period, Manchester United will earn £900m. Commenting on the contract extension, Adidas chief executive Bjorn Gulden called it “very natural” as it links “two brands that are among the most important in world football.”

This is indeed an extremely visible deal, primarily because of its parameters. Manchester United’s current contract with Adidas was also for a ten-year period, and its total cost is £750 million. In reality, Manchester United will receive slightly less.

The fact is that from the club’s financial reports it became clear that the agreement with Adidas provided for a reduction in annual payments in the event that the team did not get into the Champions League. And Manchester United was left without her last season, having failed in the national championship.

This fall in the Champions League, Manchester, who finished third in the next championship of England, will take part.

If we take contracts with equipment manufacturers, then the new agreement between Manchester United and Adidas is a record for the English Premier League. It is equal in total value to the contract, prisoner Chelsea with Nike in 2016. But at the London club, his term is one and a half times longer.

In European football as a whole, there are only two agreements competing in Manchester. These are also ten-year contracts with Nike and Adidas of Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid, signed in the middle and at the end of the previous decade. Barcelona allows the club to receive €105 million a year, Madrid – €120 million. At the same time, the conditions of both make it possible to attract other partners, so the real income of Spanish clubs regarding equipment is apparently even higher.

When talking about the renewal of Manchester United’s deal with Adidas, the BBC links it to another topic of interest. This is the theme of the sale of the English grand.

The American Glaser family, to which it belongs, in fact, initiated it with a special statement at the end of 2022. Since then, there have been at least two impressive bids to buy Manchester United from very powerful and seriously interested investors. One – from the British billionaire, the head of the Ineos concern Jim Ratcliffe – is in a phased buyout of the club. If the deal goes through, it will bring his total capitalization to £6bn. Second offer – from the Qatari sheikh Jasim bin Hamad Al Thani – much easier. He is ready to buy 100% of the club’s shares for £5.5bn.

Meanwhile, if a few months ago, the imminent sale of Manchester United seemed inevitable, but recently it seems that the process has stalled. Commenting on this fact, the BBC points out that the attractiveness of the club as an asset is extremely negatively affected by the accumulated debts, which have already gone off scale for £950 million. A long-term contract with Adidas is likely to slightly increase this attractiveness, along with club income.

Alexey Dospekhov