INEOS increase presence at Manchester United amid commercial concerns

Manchester United, despite their recent struggles, have always been one of the top clubs in the world.

Even with massive dips in Premier League performances under Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim, The Red Devils are still retaining some of the most expensive sponsorship deals in the league.

Kit manufacturer, Adidas, maintain their £90 million per season deal with the club, a Premier League record.

Alongside this, Snapdragon’s parent company, Qualcomm have a £60 million per season deal to appear on the club’s kits, and have been linked with buying naming rights for the new stadium.

However, not all United’s sponsorships are ongoing, with their shirt sleeve partnership with DXC Technology set to end in the summer.

This comes on the back of the end of Tezos’ training kit deal which expired last summer, and has still not been replaced.

As such, the commercial impact of these partnerships ending is a regualar point of conversation at the routine executive committee meetings, with the last being held at Carrington.

Now, The Athletic has reported that, due to the commercial concerns at the club, INEOS have once more installed chief executive of INEOS Sport, Jean-Claude Blanc, at the club to be a more active presence.

Blanc was a key part of INEOS’ implementation at Old Trafford, however stepped away last March, although he continued to hold a role as chief of international football relations.

In this capacity, Jean-Claude Blanc has represented The Red Devils in meetings and conferences with governing bodies such as FIFA, UEFA, and the European Club Association, so his role at United merely changed rather than ending.

Now however, he’s returning, monitoring the commercial work of the club, set to work alongside the club’s chief business officer, Marc Armstrong.

The pair are tasked with finding partnerships to fill the £24 million shortfall left by the end of the Tezos deal, let alone the upcoming expiry of the partnership with DXC.