Insiders claim marketing chief who was involved in negotiations
left the US car giants after the "incredible, unbelievable"
sponsorship package was questioned by colleagues, story adds
Manchester United's new shirt sponsorship deal with
American carmakers Chevrolet is worth an "incredible" £357million
between now and 2021, according to reports - more than double what
their current package brings in.
When the seven-year deal was
announced earlier this week, it was reported it would see
the Old Trafford side rake in around £28m per season.
Now however, reports originating in the US, where United are in
the process of selling 10% of the club on the New York Stock
Exchange, suggest that those figures were a massive
underestimate.
While Chevrolet won't replace insurers Aon as United's shirt
sponsors until the 2014-15 season, figures presented to the US
Securities and Exchange Commission by the club are said to claim
they will receive 'fees' of about $18.6m (around £11m at current
exchange rates) from them in the coming season and the 2013-14
campaign.
Then, in 2014-15, United will receive a whopping $70m (£44.75m)
in return for carrying the Chevrolet logo on their shirts, with the
amount paid rising by 2.1 per cent in each following season until
2020-2021.
One marketing sector expert, who was reportedly involved in
negotiating one of United's previous shirt sponsorship deals, with
Vodafone, marvelled at the agreement with Chevrolet.
"It's incredible, unbelievable," he said.
In another story, a sponsorship consultant said United's
Chevrolet agreement smashed the previous record set by Barcelona's
$39.1m-a-year - £25m - deal with the Qatar Foundation.
"The increase between Aon and Chevrolet I'd say is
unprecedented," he admitted.
As recently as 2006, that same story adds, Vodafone were paying
£8m-a-year to have their logo on United's shirts - they were
replaced by a £14m-a-year deal with financial-services firm AIG
that ran until 2010, when Aon took over at £19.6m per season.