Man Utd miss out on £200m training kit deal

Manchester United have missed out on a £200 million sponsorship deal due to the fall-out from their failed bid to join the European Super League.

Pressure from protesters against all the club’s commercial partners has forced Manchester-based The Hut Group to withdraw from an agreement to sponsor the club’s training kit.

They were due to replace AON with the words MyProtein, a firm owned by THG, on the tops in a ten-year deal.

But United will now look for a new sponsor and are feeling nervous about how toxic their brand may could be, with a huge part of their income coming from sponsorships.

A fan group calling itself NOTAPENNYMORE has launched a social media campaign aimed at the club’s main sponsors – which include Adidas, who sell United kit around the world, Cadbury and more.

They issued an open letter to all the commercial partners claiming their products would be targeted causing The Hut Group to pull out.

This has happened a week after protests at Old Trafford and the club’s Lowry hotel base forced their home game against Liverpool to be postponed.

There was already a huge dissatisfaction with the owning Glazer family – who have cost the club £1.5billion in servicing the debt they lumbered the club within their 2005 takeover.

They had not engaged with fans in their sixteen years in charge. Co-chairman Avram Glazer has not been to Old Trafford in four years while Joel Glazer has not been for two.

This week, Joel Glazer tried to placate fans with statements and letters promising to right the wrongs of the past by engaging more.

But they have received a lukewarm reception from the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust who want fans to have a shareholding in the club and a say on important matters.