Aig Won’t Renew Man Utd Shirt Sponsorship

After receiving a £109bn ($150bn) government bailout, troubled US insurer AIG has announced it will not be renewing its £19m-a-year shirt sponsorship deal with Manchester United, which expires in May 2010.

AIG issued a statement saying it would be not renewing its contract with United next year and was in ‘active discussions’ with the club regarding terminating the deal at the end of the current season, a year prior to the expiry date of the deal.

Along with the expiring £14m-a-year four-year shirt deal, AIG also signed a six-and-a-half year contract at the beginning of last year to offer insurance, credit cards and mortgages using the Man Utd finance brand.

While the shirt deal will not continue, it is still not clear if the MU Finance deal will be fulfilled.

United has already started talking to a select group of potential sponsors to replace AIG with Indian telecoms brand Sahara among the firms linked with a new deal.

Simultaneous to AIG’s statement, United announced that it has also signed a new multi-million pound sponsorship deal with Swiss watch brand Hublot.

The £4m, three-year partnership deal allows Hublot have its brand name placed around Old Trafford stadium.

The watch company joins Saudi Telecom, Budweiser, and Seoul Metropolitan Government as commercial partners of Manchester United this season.