Man Utd announced two commercial deals this week – and two more can follow soon.
After having landed two major commercial partnerships last week, it is expected that a third will be on his way for Manchester United. Both Coca-Cola and Sokin have come on board in recent days.
On Wednesday, United announced that global beverage giant Coca-Cola would become the official carbonated soft drink partner of the club in the UK and Europe in a multi-year deal that is said to be worth around £ 1 million for United.
Then there was another announcement from the Old Trafford Club that they had secured another multi -year partnership with fintech company Sokin -who will become the official Global Business Payments Solutions partner of the club in another boost to United's commercial portfolio.
The decrease in competitive success in recent years has been impactful when it comes to the commercial success of United. Although the club is still seen as a global blue chip brand where partnerships bring exposure, the growth rate when it comes to commercial activities is not in the speed of their 'large six' rivals, with United seeing a growth of 10 percent since 2019 to 2023/2024.
In comparison with Arsenal (97 percent), Tottenham Hotspur (89 percent), Liverpool (64 percent), Manchester City (62 percent) and Chelsea (25 percent). During that period, United was surpassed by both city and Liverpool and it is about annual commercial income.
They still have an important sponsorship stock to sell, with the naming rights on their renewed Carrington Training Complex that co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe toured the block this week, as well as the training kit provider.
The previous deal of the club with blockchain company Tezos came to an end this summer and for recently installed Chief Business Officer Marc Armstrong, earlier this year hired by the French club Paris Saint-Germain, was finding partners for these opportunities the key.
The TEZOS deal was worth around £ 24 million a year for United, while naming rights for the training ground is probably about £ 20 million per season, with the Arsenal deal last year with Sobha Realty worth £ 15 million a year on a four-year agreement.
Ratcliffe said this week at the opening of the renewed training complex as a brand about United: “This is one of the most recognized brands in the world. It is a shoulder to shoulder with Coca-Cola and Apple.”
With that in mind, United will see both pieces of sponsor stock as the key to them to raise income to enable them to stay within the limits of PSR and to be able to reinvest in the team at a time when they are confronted with a period of the Champions League and its wealth for another season.
The value of such an inventory will not be lost in the commercial department of United, and the hiring of Armstrong is designed to ensure that the Old Trafford Club had the best operators to navigate the partnership space at a time when they struggled competitively, but also had the leverage to be one of the world sport in the world sport.
The challenge for Armstrong and his team will be to struggle the commercial initiative from Buren City and Liverpool, but part of it will depend on whether or not head coach Ruben Amorim can be successful on the field.
But commercial income must soon get a healthy bump, where both the training ground and the training kit will probably see valuable partnerships that have been beaten soon.