Bye Bye AIG

Manchester United secures record £80m shirt sponsorship deal with Aon

(London) Manchester United announced a four-year shirt sponsorship agreement with Chicago-based insurance broker Aon Corp on Wednesday in what may be the biggest deal of its kind.

An Aon logo will adorn the United players' red shirts for four years starting with the 2010-11 season, replacing that of American insurer AIG.

The Premier League champions did not announce financial terms but British newspapers reported that the deal was worth £80 million (S$189 million) over the four years.

That is about 40 per cent more than AIG was paying and 17 per cent more than Bayern Munich's shirt sponsorship with mobile phone provider T-Home.

'Today's announcement clearly strengthens our position as one of the biggest clubs in world football,' United chief executive David Gill said.

On a conference call with media, Aon chief executive Greg Case would not comment on terms of the deal.

The most dominant English team of the past 16 years, United drew level with Liverpool last month on a record 18 league championship titles.

United has won the title 11 of the 17 seasons since the lucrative Premier League was founded in 1992 as well as five FA Cups, three League Cups and the Club World Cup.

The northwest England club, which has also won the elite Champions League twice in the past decade, is valued at US$1.8 billion by Forbes Magazine.

It has huge debts following Malcolm Glazer's leveraged buyout in 2005, but sponsors are still attracted by a brand with fans across the world.

AIG received a bailout from the US government in September and said four months later that it would not renew its four-year sponsorship with United when it expires at the end of next season.

United will therefore play with AIG on its shirts until May 2010.