Manchester United are searching for a new shirt
sponsor with Chevrolet highly unlikely to renew their
deal while the club struggle on the field.
The American car manufacturer signed a staggering
£410million agreement in 2012, when Sir Alex
Ferguson was at the helm and United were
consistently challenging for top honours.
The seven-year deal came into play in 2014.
In the time United have displayed the Chevrolet
brand on their shirts, they have failed to win the
Premier League title and come nowhere near lifting
the Champions League.
Now, with the club two points above the relegation
zone under struggling manager Ole Gunnar
Solskjaer, the fallen giants look further than ever
from challenging again at the highest level.
Industry sources say that bosses at General Motors
(GM), of which Chevrolet is a division, have been
thoroughly unimpressed with United’s performance
over the duration of the deal, which expires at the
end of next season.
However, there is also a belief that the deal was
never going to be renewed.
One insider said: ‘It was doomed from the start.
The feeling within was that Chevrolet had massively
overpaid and it was never going to get done again.’
Indeed, the man who agreed the deal, global
marketing chief Joel Ewanick, was axed less than
48 hours after it was announced.
At the time, it was reported that GM executives
were furious when they learned their company would
be paying substantially more than United’s last
sponsor Aon. It was also claimed Ewanick failed to
give his bosses full details of the agreement before
signing off on it, although the man himself later
described the deal as a ‘no-brainer’.
Figures seen by Sportsmail show the agreement
with Chevrolet, which has brought in around £58.6m
per season, dwarfs those the club had previously
agreed.
Aon (2010-14) paid £19.6m a season, AIG
(2006-10) £14.1m and Vodafone (2000-2006)
£8m
It is understood that United have already begun their
search for a new sponsor and club insiders say they
have had expressions of interest from a number of
leading brands.
Despite their stuttering performances on the field,
officials are confident in the strength of the brand
and believe United’s red shirt remains attractive to
potential partners, given their global following and
the overall popularity of the Premier League.
United claimed recently that their following across
the world had reached 1.1billion and executive vice
chairman Ed Woodward has vowed that sponsorship
revenue will be key to the size of their transfer
fund.
A United spokesperson said: ‘Chevrolet is a
fantastic partner. The sponsorship continues to
achieve the brand and business objectives for both
parties and we will continue to work to activate and
maximise it.’
Source: sport.uk
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