11 September 2023 , 21:56
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Manchester United are reportedly in talks with an American technology company to become the club’s new front-of-shirt sponsor.
United currently have Germany-based software firm TeamViewer on the front of their home and away shirts, having signed a five-year deal worth £47million per year in 2021. However, United and TeamViewer announced in December that the club would buy back the rights to the sponsorship in a “mutual” decision.
Since then the club has been looking for a new sponsor, believing they can earn around £60m per year, putting them in line with rivals like Manchester City (Etihad Airways; £52m), Barcelona (Spotify; £54m), Paris Saint-Germain ( Qatar Airlines; €57m), and Real Madrid (Emirates; £62m). The Athletic now reports they are in ‘advanced’ discussions with Qualcomm, a company which manufactures telecommunications hardware.
United are already partners with Qualcomm’s subsidiary brand Snapdragon, which powers smartphones, computers and gaming devices. And the US-based company has now entered talks over a vastly expanded deal which would see their name and logo replace TeamViewer on the club’s shirts.
Any deal that is struck is unlikely to bring about any changes in the short-term, given United have already printed thousands of shirts with TeamViewer on them for the 2023/24 season. Instead, a new sponsor would come into effect next summer ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.
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The hunt for a new sponsor comes after TeamViewer got cold feet over their five-year deal worth £235m. Although the decision to part ways just one year into the five-year deal was described as “mutual”, it came after TeamViewer was put under severe pressure from its shareholders, who were deeply unhappy with the move.
Petrus Advisers, which has a 3 per cent stake in TeamViewer, wrote a letter to the company blasting the “appalling judgement” of signing a lengthy and expensive deal during the fallout from the Covid pandemic.
Manchester United currently have TeamViewer as their front-of-shirt sponsor (Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images)“We demand that you stop bleeding millions and rapidly disengage from this mess,” Petrus said in the letter, which was seen by Bloomberg. “We therefore demand that you enter professional exit discussions with a clear goal of a quick solution and that you do it immediately.”
Announcing the decision to part ways with TeamViewer, United said in a statement: “After a period of collaborative, private discussions over the past months, Manchester United and TeamViewer AG have reached a mutually-beneficial agreement under which Manchester United shall have the option to buy back the rights to the club’s shirt front sponsorship.
“Having agreed its partnership with TeamViewer at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Manchester United will be taking the opportunity to commence a focused sales process for a new shirt front partner in a normalised market.
“Once a new shirt front partner is selected and takes on this role, TeamViewer will continue as a valued member of Manchester United’s suite of global partners, providing Manchester United with remote connectivity solutions, until the end of the original contract term in 2026.”