Sponsorship & Rivalries

Sponsorship

On 23 November 2005, Vodafone ended their £36 million, four-year shirt sponsorship deal with Manchester United. On 6 April 2006, chief executive David Gill announced AIG as the new shirt sponsors of Manchester United in a British record shirt sponsorship deal of £56.5 million to be paid over four years (£14.1 million a year).^[28] Manchester United now has the most valuable sponsorship deal in the world, due to the renegotiation of the £15 million-a-year deal Juventus had with oil firm Tamoil.^[29] The four-year agreement has also been heralded, by extension, as the largest sponsorship deal in British history, eclipsing Chelsea's deal with Samsung.

Companies that Manchester United currently have sponsorship deals with include:^[30]

• AIG - Principal Sponsor
• Nike - Official Sportswear Partner
• Audi UK - Official Car Supplier and Dugout Seat Provider
• Budweiser - Official Beer
• Air Asia - Official Low Fare Airline
• Tourism Malaysia - Official Destination Partner
• Kumho - Official Partner
• Royal Resorts - Official Leisure Property Development Partner
• Betfred - Official Betting Partner
• Century Radio - Official Radio Station
• Viagogo - Secondary Ticketing Partner

The club has only ever had three main shirt sponsors, the longest-running being Sharp Electronics, who sponsored the club from 1982 to 2000, when Vodafone took over in an initial four-year £30 million deal. Similarly, the club has only had four independent kit manufacturers, the first being Admiral. adidas took over in the mid-1980s, only for local sportswear company Umbro to replace them in 1992. Umbro's sponsorship lasted for a whole ten years, until the club struck a record-breaking £302.9 million deal with Nike. The agreement with Nike will last an initial 13 years, although the American company does have the option to cancel the deal in 2008. Otherwise, the contract will run until at least 2015.^[31]

Rivalries

Manchester United, having been one of England's most successful clubs for most of the last 100 years, have more rivalries than just about any other.

United's number one rival is difficult to determine, as some fans see Liverpool as their biggest rivals, while others rate Manchester City as their biggest rivals. The Liverpool rivalry began during the 1960s when the two clubs were among the strongest in England, and have been competing closely just about every season since. The Manchester City rivalry dates back to the Newton Heath era of the 1890s, and has remained fierce due to both clubs being in the same division for much of their history.

Other rivals include Everton, Leeds United and Arsenal. The Everton rivalry has been strong since the early 1960s, when the two teams among the finest in England. It intensified again during the 1980s, notably when United beat Everton in the 1985 FA Cup final, and again in 1995 when United were on the receiving end of an Everton triumph in the FA Cup final. The rivalry with Leeds United began during the late 1960s, when Leeds emerged as a top side, and reached its apex when Leeds pipped United to the league title in 1992. The rivalry with Arsenal has been particularly intense since Arsenal pipped United to the 1998, 2002 and 2004 Premier League titles, and between the first two titles, United were champions with Arsenal finishing second. 2003 also saw United finish top and Arsenal as runners-up.