Manchester United sponsorship deal shows the value of a global brand

The scale of the new shirt sponsorshop deal agreed between Manchester United and General Motors Chevrolet brand is staggering and a great example of the benefits a brand can enjoy when it becomes truly global.

The deal is reported as being worth a record-breaking $559m (£357m), which works out at almost $80m (£51m) a year.

To put this into perspective, that is more than double the £19.6m insurer Aon is currently paying to have its brand on Manchester united’s shirts.

Another way to compare the deal is to look at the major shirt sponsorship arrangements for other leading clubs. The current deals for the other highest-sponsored clubs are:

• Barcelona (Qatar Foundation) - £25m p.a.
• Bayern Munich (Deutsche Telekom) - £23.6m p.a.
• Liverpool (Standard Chartered) £20m p.a.
• Manchester City (Etihad Airways) £20m p.a.

Why the high number?

One key reason is the size and reach of Manchester United as a global brand. The club claims that it has 659 million global followers including a vast fan base on social media sites. How many global brands can compete with that kind of reach? No wonder other brands want to be associated with Manchester United!