Manchester United end Aeroflot sponsorship amid Russian invasion of Ukraine

Manchester United, arguably the biggest and most-famous Premier League club in the eyes of those outside of England, have parted ways with a longtime partner because of its link to Russia amid that country's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. 

As Rob Dawson explained for ESPN, United officially ended their sponsorship deal with Russia's national airline Aeroflot on Friday. 

"In light of events in Ukraine, we have withdrawn Aeroflot’s sponsorship rights," the club announced in a brief statement. "We share the concerns of our fans around the world and extend our sympathies to those affected." 

Dawson notes Aeroflot had been United's official carrier since 2013 but that the club used a different company for what became Wednesday's 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round-of-16 clash. 

The United Kingdom government previously banned Aeroflot from operating in the country, and CNN's Mark Thompson wrote that British Airways has suspended flights to Moscow. 

Per Leslie Josephs of CNBC, Delta Air Lines announced Friday they have "withdrawn our codeshare services operated in conjunction with Russian national airline, Aeroflot, effective immediately" and "removed our code from Aeroflot-operated services beyond Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport and removed Aeroflot’s code from Delta-operated services from Los Angeles and New York-JFK." 

For a piece published last April, Forbes' Mike Ozanian listed United fourth on the list of the world's most valuable football clubs behind only Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and Barcelona.  

Elsewhere around the footballing community, UEFA stripped Saint Petersburg of this year's Champions League final and moved the game to Paris, and Poland are hoping their World Cup qualifying playoff match at Russia on March 24 will also be relocated.