(Football news) Manchester United shirt sponsors Teamviewer have come under intense scrutiny from its investors about their five year shirt partnership with the club worth £235 million. The German technology company will continue as a ‘global partner’ until 2026 but the shirt sponsorship contract will be terminated after a new sponsor is found. The partnership between the two companies was Manchester United’s second best after their £750m kit deal with manufacturers Adidas and the Red Devils are understood to be confident about getting an even bigger sponsorship in the future.
A statement from United read: “After a period of collaborative, private discussions over the past months, Manchester United and TeamViewer AG have reached a mutually beneficial agreement under which Manchester United shall have the option to buy back the rights to the club’s shirt front sponsorship. Having agreed its partnership with TeamViewer at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Manchester United will be taking the opportunity to commence a focused sales process for a new shirt front partner in a normalised market.
“Once a new shirt front partner is selected and takes on this role, TeamViewer will continue as a valued member of Manchester United’s suite of global partners, providing Manchester United with remote connectivity solutions, until the end of the original contract term in 2026.”
Teamviewer has been accused of showing “appalling judgement” and “hubris” over their partnership with Manchester United in a scathing letter from investors Petrus Advisers last month, who hold a near 3% stake in the company. The German company made it known in November that they will not be renewing their five year contract with Manchester United due to pressure from the investors.
The letter read “As active investors we will not tolerate that you spend 1.4x your net profit or over €70 million per year on sponsorship contracts with Manchester United and Mercedes Formula 1. You are not SAP, Oracle or Mercedes.” Teamviewer are the second shirt sponsors after Vodafone to end their sponsorship deal early as the telecommunication company ended their partnership in 2006, two years before schedule.
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