RISK LOSING YOUR SHIRT The bucks stop here!
THE odds on Manchester United getting relegated this season are now shorter than those on them winning the Premier League title.
It would take a brave man to back them to go down.
It would also take someone an equally bizarre thought process to stick a quid on them becoming champions again. Whatever happens – and the smart money is on United finishing somewhere in the middle – otherwise known as ‘no man’s land’ – it’s not a great selling point for a club looking to secure a new sponsor. The current deal is with US car giant Chevrolet, which is in the process of blowing £410million on having its name plastered on the front of one of the most famous shirts in football.
It seemed like a good idea at the time. When the seven-year deal was struck in 2012, Sir Alex Ferguson was still the manager and United were winning things.
Fast forward to 2019 and Chevrolet’s indulgence looks pure folly because you don’t get much bang for your buck these days at Old Trafford.
Since the deal came into play in 2014, United have not come remotely close to winning the two trophies people like those generous folk at Chevrolet want to be associated with – the Premier League and Champions League.
By the time Chevrolet’s owners General Motors realised this, it was too late – and global marketing chief Joel Ewanick had left his post by then.
Ewanick, who is reported to have failed to provide his bosses with the finer details of the deal, had described the agreement as a “no brainer.”
He was right in one sense, because who in their right mind would attach themselves to a club who relied on one man – Fergie – for their continued success.
General Motors and Chevrolet have now had more than enough time to both realise and suffer the error of their ways and will be unlikely to renew the deal, leaving United to begin the search for a successor.
Perhaps United are combining it with their search for a new manager – and intend killing two birds with one hefty stone. Who knows?
There have been ‘expressions of interest’ according to club insiders, although United have refused to confirm if any of these include Specsavers, Confused.com, Thomas Cook or House of Fraser. Joking aside, because there is little or nothing for United to be laughing about right now, the club’s process of finding a new shirt sponsor could well prove to be a seismic and telling moment in their immediate future.
This will be the time for executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward to prove once again why he is considered by owners the Glazers to be a ‘commercial genius.’
It will be a welcome chance for him to justify his existence amid all the criticism hurtling in his direction, not least because United confirmed last month how strong the brand remained, with a global following of 1.1 billion people.
Woodward has also made it clear that sponsorship revenue will determine the size of United’s transfer fund so the pressure is on like never before.
But looking at the current state of the team and their league position, United are going to have to persuade Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett Bill Gates to all sponsor them at the same time if they are to land the players they need to become competitive again.
On the one hand, United are only five players away from being seriously good again.
But on the other one, these just happen to be the modern-day equivalents of George Best, Eric Cantona, Roy Keane, Sir Bobby Charlton and Denis Law.
If Harry Maguire is now worth £80m then around £1billion should just about cover the cost of landing this lot, provided they would be willing to move to Old Trafford in the first place.
Sponsoring the United shirt used to be one of the ultimate privileges in sport but is this still the case?
We are all about to find out and it might not be the answer fans hope for.