Man United short-changed as new £60m deal agreed – Ex-PL CEO
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness has claimed Man United should have extracted much more value from their front-of-shirt sponsorship deal.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – insisted a “consumer-facing” company, rather than Qualcomm, would’ve banked more for the Red Devils.
Man United announced their deal with Qualcomm on Monday (1 July), with the Snapdragon brand front and centre of their new kit for the 2024-25 campaign.
As per The Athletic (1 July), the deal is worth just under £60million per year and could run for five total years if a two-year extension clause is activated.
It was also claimed that United will face no penalty to that figure if they fail to qualify for the Champions League.
Man United should have banked more for front-of-shirt deal, says Wyness
Wyness claimed £60million is “low” for a club that claim to have “1.1 billion fans” worldwide.
He told Football Insider‘s Insider Track podcast: “I went into this deal in detail and had a real look at it.
“They had one with TeamViewer before, which fell through because it was a secondary product.
“Snapdragon, as I understand it, is a processor company – and also isn’t a front-line consumer product.
“I’m always confused as to why those companies need this brand recognition on a football shirt.
“The numbers can work, but consumer-facing companies can get much more value from a front-of-shirt deal.
“£60m, for me, seems a low number – given this is Man United.
“They have 1.1billion fans around the world.
“I hope Snapdragon can find a way to maximise this, but shirts can be so valuable to getting sales – and I just wonder how effective this deal can be.”
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