Man Utd cancel their £40m sponsorship deal with Russia-owned airline Aeroflot
Manchester United have cancelled their massive £40million sponsorship deal with Russian airline Aeroflot.
The move is in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and comes after United flew to Madrid on Tuesday with Titan Airways.
A United Spokesperson said: ‘In light of events in Ukraine, we have withdrawn Aeroflot’s sponsorship rights.
‘We share the concerns of our fans around the world and extend our sympathies to those affected.’
The team had a longstanging commercial agreement having first linked up with the Russian company in 2013 but have now severed ties.
read also:Russia’s Grand Prix axed from the Formula One calendar
United’s deal with Aeroflot was renewed in 2017 to the tune of £40m and was due to expire in 2023. Aeroflot is the national airline of and flies to 146 destinations across 52 countries.
In addition to flying the United stars all over the world, Aeroflot also provided the club with travel and logistical advice but United are now in the market for a new flight partner, with Qatar Airways under consideration.
United banked in the region of £100m in total from their nine-year association with Aeroflot.
Interestingly, United’s share price dropped following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and it was speculated that it could have been down to their association with Aeroflot.
As of Thurday, in two weeks the share price had fallen from $14.08 a share to $13.10, a dip of seven per cent.
United will hope that the end of their partnership with Aeroflot will at least arrest the share price decline. Other clubs, such as German side Schalke, are also ending their association with Russian companies and they are no longer sponsored by Gazprom.
Gazprom are also sponsors of the Champions League and UEFA are under pressure to cut ties with them. They are majority owned by the Russian government and have sponsored the competition since 2012.
Their decision is the latest as a direct result of the Russian invasion and earlier it was decided that this year’s Champions League final will no longer be held in Russia.
Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday with troops attacking the country from the north, east and south, inflicting enormous damage to military installations and civilian casualties.
Four Premier League clubs remain in the competition at the last-16 stage with Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City taking leads into next month’s second leg ties and Manchester United level with Atletico Madrid.
read also:Russia’s Grand Prix axed from the Formula One calendar
‘The UEFA Executive Committee today held an extraordinary meeting following the grave escalation of the security situation in Europe,’ a UEFA statement on Friday read.
‘The UEFA Executive Committee decided to relocate the final of the 2021-22 UEFA men’s Champions League from Saint Petersburg to Stade de France in Saint-Denis. The game will be played as initially scheduled on Saturday 28 May at 9pm CET (8pm BST).
‘UEFA wishes to express its thanks and appreciation to French Republic President Emmanuel Macron for his personal support and commitment to have European club football’s most prestigious game moved to France at a time of unparalleled crisis.’
The Kremlin reacted to the decision soon afterwards, claiming that St Petersburg would have offered ‘the best possible conditions’ for the showpiece event.
‘It is a shame that such a decision was made,’ Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
‘Saint Petersburg could have provided the best possible conditions for holding this football event.’
The UK government immediately endorsed the decision to strip Russia of the final. Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said: ‘I welcome UEFA’s decisive action to strip St Petersburg of staging this year’s Champions League Final.
‘Russia must not be allowed to exploit sporting and cultural events on the world stage to legitimise its unprovoked, premeditated and needless attack against a sovereign democratic state.’
Russian and Ukrainian club and national teams will play home games at neutral venues, UEFA also announced.
The news came as Ukrainian forces took to the streets of Kyiv today with national guard troops pictured lining up defensive positions along a highway shortly before the sounds of gunfire and explosions rang out as they battled Russian forces for control of the capital.
Putin’s men are now thought to be inside the city, though their exact location and number is unclear. Fighting was reported in Obolon, on the city’s outskirts, in the early hours as the ministry of defence told residents to make Molotov cocktails to ‘repel the occupiers’. Russian forces were also spotted in Vorzel, Bucha, Irpen districts.
The Russian troops are thought to have arrived from the north-east, having pushed down from Chernobyl which was captured late yesterday. More Russian troops and armour are advancing on the capital from Konotop, in the east, having bypassed the city of Chernihiv where they ran into heavy Ukrainian resistance.
Once Kyiv is surrounded, US intelligence believes the plan will be for Russian special forces to move in and seize an airport – likely Sikorsky or Boryspil – which would then be used to fly in a much larger force of up to 10,000 paratroopers who would assault the capital.
The job of the paratroopers would be to enter the city, find Zelensky, his ministers, and parliamentarians, before forcing them to sign a peace deal handing control of the country back to Russia or a Moscow-backed puppet regime – effectively ending the war without Putin’s ground forces needing to complete the difficult and bloody task of seizing and occupying the whole country.