Finance guru: Man United ‘ready for anything’ as saboteurs attack £75m-a-year Adidas deal
Man United fans’ bid to sabotage the club’s sponsorship deal with Adidas are doomed to failure.
That is the view of finance expert Doctor Dan Plumley, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about disenfranchised United supporters and their attempts to knock the Glazers off-kilter.
As relayed by The Sun last Wednesday (18 May), fan group The 1958 have launched a campaign to target a new commercial stakeholder each week.
The anti-Glazer initiative began last week with a focus on technical supplier Adidas, who pay United a reported £75million per year to produce and sell their merchandise.
Retail giants the Hut Group pulled out of a £200million deal because of a similar campaign by fans in May last year.
But Plumley is not optimistic that they will be able to repeat the trick with a brand as enormous as Adidas.
“This can sometimes work,” the Sheffield Hallam University expert told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“The Hut Group example did work but I suggest that it’s unlikely to take down one of the biggest names in the game like Adidas. The club will also be ready for anything that comes their way.
“As a company and in terms of their global brand, they attracted criticism themselves. But I can’t see this campaign have any real traction.
“It’s an indirect way to let the owners know that the fans aren’t happy, but how long have the fans been doing this? Apart from the Super League protests, the Glazers have pretty much brushed everything off.”
United earned £232m in commercial income in 2020-21.
Total turnover for the financial year stood at £494m.
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