Manchester United recently signed the most valuable shirt sponsorship deal with Aon, who will replace current sponsors AIG. The last Manchester United shirt to bear the AIG logo was released yesterday and is now available for pre-order, with Aon to feature on our shirts for the 2010/2011 season.
Chris Toy from Studs Up has conducted an interview with David Prosperi, VP, Global Public Relations at Aon Coporation, who talks on a variety of issues involved with the new sponsorship.
Chris wondered whether the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo had concerned Aon, given his popularity around the World, but Prosperi took the view of United fans worldwide, that no single player is bigger than the club.
“While some of our 37,000 global colleagues may have had some personal reaction to Ronaldo’s departure, Aon agreed to this partnership based on the overall strength and appeal of the Manchester United brand and not just one player,” he said. “We recognized that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be aligned with the number one brand in the world’s number one sport. We feel there are a number of great opportunities for our brand to be placed on the Manchester United shirt with tremendous exposure to the millions of dedicated fans who follow this team every day.”
Our current sponsors AIG have not renewed their deal after becoming financially crippled and relying on a US Federal Reserve to bail them out. Prosperi recognises the success AIG had and hopes a repeat effect for themselves…obviously without the massive financial issues!
“It is merely a coincidence that an insurance broker is taking the place of an insurer, and we have a great deal of respect for AIG, for their brand, and for the work they have done with Manchester United during the course of their agreement, which continues through the 2009-2010 season,” he continued. “The first year after AIG’s sponsorship agreement began, they came from nowhere on the list of the world’s top 100 brands to 47th! And they jumped from 84th to 30th on Barron’s list of the most respected companies. Our objective in signing this agreement with Manchester United is to build our brand globally, and we hope we are as successful as AIG.”
Chris wondered whether Aon were planning to take a backseat in this partnership or whether they’re keen to have more of an impact on the football club and its community.
“We intend to become more than just a name on a shirt during our agreement with Manchester United,” he added. “Aon is a global firm that strongly believes in giving back to the communities in the over-than 120 countries in which it does business, and we were favourably pleased that Manchester United shares many of those same values through their work with UNICEF. There is no other sport that teaches young people the principles of teamwork and striving for excellence as much as football, and Manchester United leads the way in teaching the values of UNICEF. We also believe we can help Manchester United strengthen its brand positioning in the US.”
Finally, Prosperi was tested on his football knowledge and asked who he thought United should spend their money on this summer.
“That would be like me telling the general manager of the Chicago Bulls who they should pick in this week’s NBA draft! I like basketball but I don’t know the needs of the club, so I will leave that decision to their general manager. All I can say is that we at Aon are already enjoying the working relationship we have with our colleagues at Manchester United and we are looking forward to enjoying their many successes in the upcoming seasons.”
Finally, what operational interaction or influence will Aon have with the Glazer family? No answer could be given.
Man Utd News 24/7
ha! that last paragraph shows how clueless my fellow americans are when it comes to football… truly sad.
Why is our proud club associating with such investment companies, market brokers, corporate shareholders, speculators, coupon-clippers and commodity coveters ….
baseball and basketball are just so much more popular than football in the states, where as in the uk you don’t really see people following a sport other than rugby, football or even cricket.
@ fze123, you’re right… but the WORLD follows football. no one cares about american football, basketball, or baseball outside of the US really (or if they do, to a much lesser degree than football, relatively speaking). football is the world’s sport and i feel embarrassed that our country hasn’t embraced it. watching the united states soccer team is painful (see 1st goal against egypt)… and trying to watch the MLS is simply awful.
¡No Pasarán!
answer your question
why is tevez wanting to go to the bitters over the champions
(wants the most money)
@ghtt, agreed, it’s all about the money.
i fucking love wayne rooney
look at that face of joy
you can build a team on the guys passion alone
Sir Alex Ferguson a.k.a. the greatest general manager of all time
He dont know fuck-all about football. They probably dont care a jot about Manchester United, they just there to grow their global popularity. Fuck ‘em. Manchester United is what matters to us. One Love Forever – MUFC
Sanj, watching Spain v USA, USA could and probably should be a goal up, they’re having a better go than most teams against them.
As for Aon not knowing anything about football, well that’s personal taste, as he said, if he was asked about the Bulls on who they should sign he wouldn’t know as it’s down to the club anyway, a very diplomatic answer, they sound like a good sponsor deal and them knowing nothing about football doesn’t bother me at all, England might be all in favour of football and I love the sport, but “we” also like shitty Rugby and Cricket and i’d much rather watch Basketball than the latter two!
I love the facts about how AIG benefited by the deal with United, it’s incredible how attractive we are as a brand!
Mic, they show effort, i will give them that, but there is no investment in football here, both at the national level and the youth level. talent isn’t going to develop without any investments in the youth of america. i believe if as much money was put into football as it is in baseball, american football, and basketball, the US would potentially develop into a top 10 side. however, it is simply not a priority.
@ Sanj
don’t be ashamed, in your country basketball’s NBA overshadows football, a reason why it’s not embraced more popular. also, USA aren’t doing too bad in the confedrations cup, currently second in their group.
and there you go, the US up 1-0. of course, jozy altidore plays in spain. hahaha.
The thing is, the Aon PR guy or Aon don’t need to say who SAF should buy or not buy.
The main thing is that united are getting serious money from Aon and we need all the
Money we can get especially when we’ve git such huge debts! It makes commercial
Sense to do this deal with Aon.
All those mocking the americans!! they are 2-0 up against spain!!!
off topic, but i can pretty much predict the headlines at the end of next season if we will/will not win the title. if we do, everyone will be talking about how what a magnificent team this is, fergie best manager in the world , managing to win it four times in a row, despite losing two great players and having to reshape the team. if we don’t, then everyone will question fergie’s tactics, is it the time for him to retire?, united needed ronaldo, and the criticism of our new signings will begin. imho, i think the more likely scenario would be the ‘if we don’t', because that will depend on who we sign. we should only spend a huge amount on a promising player. there’s been a lot of reports claiming united will pay 40m+ for aguero, which i hope are not true.
When a top class company such as AON wants international recognition they go to the organisation that can deliver – UTD. Forget Real Madrid – they’re only popular in the parts of the world where there’s no money – South America.
Talking about Spain – the myth that Spain is the centre of the football universe – pushed after Barca fortunately won the CL – has been well and truly laid to rest. USA 2 Spain 0. Well done US
To be honest who cares if AON dont know squat about football? So long as they put money into the club what difference does it make? Did the directors of Sharp of Vodafone give a damn about football? The only thing you need a sponsor for is to pour money into your club and AON are happy to do that. Fine by me.
“We recognized that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be aligned with the number one brand in the world’s number one sport. We feel there are a number of great opportunities for our brand to be placed on the Manchester United shirt with tremendous exposure to the millions of dedicated fans who follow this team every day.”
‘Pool, Chelsea and Arsenal fans – read the above, read it again and finally read it again. The man is talking about one club, and your clubs don’t get anywhere close to the prestige and aura enjoyed by UTD. You may think they do, but they don’t. UTD are in a different league altogether. They’re light years ahead of other English clubs. And those fans know it.
This was a very interesting comment:
“The first year after AIG’s sponsorship agreement began, they came from nowhere on the list of the world’s top 100 brands to 47th! And they jumped from 84th to 30th on Barron’s list of the most respected companies. Our objective in signing this agreement with Manchester United is to build our brand globally, and we hope we are as successful as AIG.”
So AIG went from nowhere to 47th on the list of the world’s most recognisable brands. And what did AIG pay for that? £15mill. Some companies would pay many times that amount to get a listing increase like that. The £20m a year UTD are getting from AON looks VERY CHEAP if the same results can be achieved. Perhaps UTD should have based their fee on the position achieved on these business lists.
its a good deal, great in fact. doesnt matter if the guy doesnt know his football.
Not like they will have any influence on us, so I don’t really are if they know anything about us.
About the post someone made about us not being proud of being associated with insurance companies, at least we have enough pride to not put any betting firm’s name on us.
Marq thats not entirely true..
correct me if im wrong but i believe that the deal with mansion collapsed because they leaked the story before the deal was finalised..
on the Aon issue as long they keep their end of the deal they dont need to really know anything about football. this is purely business at the end of the day!
I wrote an article a few days ago on the recent Glazer activity:
http://canadianstretty.blogspot.com/2009/06/glazer-effect-continues.html
It goes without saying I’m getting worried
Hope the NEXT financial crisis will not affect AON as this current one did to AIG. I like to wear current & update to date jerseys.
Play of words with the acronyms:
AIG = All In God’s name
AON= All Or Nothing! see, there’s SOME continuity after all!
Can’t help but add this:
AON = All Or Nothing = quintuple or nothing!
can’t help but add: USA, USA!
totally of topic…..
but i think that we wont buy any “marquee” player this summer….
and i think that valencia is crap…..
sorry…
wanted to say off topic
@bobkoh
quintuple ??
my goals for next season is number 19
anything else is just spoiling me
G O O D
M O R N I N G
P E O PL E
O F
R.O.M.
KIA THE PIMP IS OUT THIS MORNING SAYING THE BITTERS ARE FAVOURITE TO SIGN THE PROSTITUTE ,WITH THE RENT BOYS AND ONE MORE TEAM IN THE RUNNING
also our bid for costa has been turned down
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_5399945,00.html
Ibrahimovic ???
but they want a £77 million move
Inter president Massimo Moratti recently stated that there is a ’50 percent chance’ that the former Juventus and Ajax forward will be leaving the club but his agent insists he is in the dark at present.
“I have read the last interview given by Moratti,” Raiola told Gazzetta dello Sport.
“If he says that that there is a 50 percent chance that Ibrahimovic will stay that means there must be an offer, but then they need to wait and see if I’m in agreement.
“First introduce me to the buyer and allow me to be at the negotiating table.”
“It’s not only Barcelona who can afford him,” Raiola added. “But other clubs like Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United as well as Inter, so that makes five clubs.”
Too bad about Costa’s trial. Gremio say he’s too good for a trial. If he was so good, why not let him train with us for 2-3 weeks and show his talent and at the same time convince United to pay this kind of money for him? It will be interesting what Sir Alex will do now.
Good morning.
Scousers want the same deal as we have with Aon. 10 million fro Carlsberg is not good enough as they think they are among the most recognised brands worldwide.
The dipers will have crown paints back on their shirt before long. They can’t come near us when it comes to recognition of our brand. They’re on par with Blackburn and Sunderland when it comes to sponsorships.
Real have contacted Lyon over the availability of Karim Benzema.
The Fascists are going to sign everybody up. It’s ridiculous.
Potentially they could end up with Ronaldo, Kaka, Ribery, Valencia, and Benzema. FFS.
AlphaRS – Yeah I know mate, they make me fucking sick the fascists. Probably just paper talk. Other than Kaka have they actually paid for anyone yet? I would have thought that when we did the deal with Ron Gill may have said leave our targets alone i.e Benzema. It is becoming a joke.
They will be after Cesc now having rocked the boat at Arsenal. We should put a bid of £35 million in for him.
hello ppl another day another player linked this time rossi. Ive got a feeling this will be a frusrating summer in the transfer market. PS united till i die!
the real- benzama story could well be true
but the only source that this news has is the Daily Mirror
sky sport.com is reporting it same a setanta ect but it all falls on the fact that its a pure 100% Daily Mirror with “people close to the club” “source close to the player” blah blah
King Eric I believe they have only actually paid for Kaka.
I think that Ronnie is a done deal and Ribery has already said he prefers Real. If there is any player we need it is an out and out striker to score us some goals. Karim Benzema is that man. Just seems like United are waiting around for some reason and it is especially frustrating when The Fascists are doing no end of business.
Fabregas has a point. Arsenal can not match his ambitions.
He is too good for Arsenal and I think he should move on to Barcelona.
this just got emailed to me through emilys youtube page
Brazilian Teenager Dodo To Join United ——————————————————————————– Sir Alex Ferguson is signing a Brazilian teenager – Corinthians centre-half Jose Rodolfo Pires Ribeiro Dodo. Fergie’s South American contacts tipped him off about the 17-year-old, who is set to follow compatriots Rafael and Fabio Da Silva to Manchester United. Dodo has starred for Brazil in the South American Under-17 championships, helping his country to two clean sheets so far. The tall and skilful left-footer is strong in the air and talented on the ball, likened to Rio Ferdinand by those who have seen him come through the ranks. Sources say he has an EC passport through his Portuguese background. United will pay Corinthians a small fee at first but the deal could be worth around £5m if he makes the grade.
I think Lyon have denied that an offer has been put in for Benzema. They have said they have been in contact but are not selling. Is that to the Fascists or in general?
Meanwhile I believe they have now signed Albiol. What a way to build a team. Hate everything they stand for. Citeh are gonna do exactly the same but with far less greater players. Football is officialy fucked!
GHTT – Don’t know much about the lad, but it is good to see that United still NURTURE players, albeit from South America.
king eric
i dont know anything on it
its just copied and pasted fron an email i just got so take from it what you will
the guy who sent it to me was called greenhoff
@ King Eric
don’t think that much, mate. there is no need to comment on every bit of rumour. we’ll here a lot of it in the next 2 months.
It doesn’t matter if they’re from South America,North America,Europe or Mars,as long as we nurture them,unlike a certain Real Madrid.
Is Dodo going to be another Pique?
No use signing youngsters if they don’t have a chance to show their worth.
The good ones will move on like Pique, Rossi, etc.
AlphaRS,you’re really pessimistic,aren’t you?
@ AlphaRS
Evans is still here, Roonet still here.
It’s not that bad but yes. I’m with you on that.
Boogeyman we sign no end of potentially good players for alot of money.
What is the point if they don’t get a chance to show how good they are?
Foster is a classic case. He was supposed to be the next best thing.
He had it bad with the injuries but he never really got a chance in the first team. Rossi and Pique were the same. They left and became a successful elsewhere.
The reality of it is over the past few seasons very few of these guys get a chance.
I didn’t disagree with you.I was just commenting on your pessimisticity/pessimisticness?!?.Foster is still here,though.And Rossi may not have been big enough to play in the Premier League.Same as Forlan.Couldn’t handle the English league so he went to Spain and started banging in goals for fun.Shame that we’ll never know,though.Which was kind of your point.Oh.
Corea Rooney was immediately given the chance as he was for the 1st team. Evans had the opportunity when Vidic or Rio couldn’t play. So he had his chance.
Pique would’ve been given that chance if he’d stayed.Truth is,he didn’t want to compete for his spot in the team.
Boogeyman at the moment I suppose I am a little pessimistic.
The Fascists are buying up the market and United are are not doing alot.
Just alittle frustrating is all….
WTF!!! Linked with so many players yet not even 1 is sure to come to OT!
Seems United have been cursed by Madrid’s money
@ AlphaRS
But Evans isn’t going anywhere after all. Because he had the potential to shine. Pique should have waited for his chance but he didn’t. At the end of the day i am satisfied with our choice.
We don’t know everything mate.
everybody needs to relax
Where did the fascist get all that money?
I said this before and I’ll say it again.
In Sir Alex(And Rafa) We Trust
@ghtt:You’re right.
ya swear united just bought kenwin jones and sold everyone apart from nani
who’d to play in goal
wheres the kiko against villa buzz
if ron had of left the next day after that match noone would give two shits what real where doing
united seem to be very close to be signing a winger from wigan which leaves Rooney to always play in his best role
stick berbatov just behind him(watch hull v united or bulgar v ireland) and watch number 19 for united hit your history books
this is manchester united remember
@Gudjohnsen:Perez is the head of some construction company.I don’t think it’s his money,though.I think they sold their training ground to the government for 300m euros and have rented it back for the huge sum of 1(ONE) euro a year.
Thank God someone here thinks like me,ghtt.And you forgot one thing:Sir Alex.He can deal with this better than anyone else.
@Gudjohnson: they got a 300 Mio EUR credit from Spanish Banco Santander..thats what I read recently…
Hate this “WhiteCunts”…if that is the only way to build a team for them I hope they never get into financial trouble…fuckers! Utd well be alright mates!!
@theboogeyman
do you mind if i ask how old you are
No problem.I’m 15.Why?
If that came off as a little rude,I apologise.
no way brother id came off as shocking
i really taught by your level of thinking that you where older
so you where born in 94
so your too young to remeber eric leaving
Mark Hughes joining chelsea
you where 9 when beckham left
you speak like a man of no worries like you’ve seen it before
fair play
i love the attitude
Thanks,mate.I read as many books as I can about the club to increase my knowledge of it.
Honestly,I only started watching football in 2002.I knew only 2 teams,Liverpool and Manchester United.For some reason,I liked Manchester United more.Must’ve been because of Beckham,I guess.My most clear,early memory of United was the match at The Valley against Charlton.We won 4-1 or 4-0(I think 4-1) with RVN scoring a hattrick and Becks scoring a deflected goal.Other than that,another early memory is the day we signed Ronaldo.In the paper,there was a small article about us signing Ronaldo.At the time,he was an unknown,while Fat Ronaldo had just scored 9 goals in the previous World Cup(most no. of goals in the World Cup ever).I remember telling my brother(3 years older than me,also a United fan) that we had signed Ronaldo,thinking it was the fat one.He almost killed me when he found out it was some idiot called Cristiano Ronaldo.Look how times have changed.One’s World Player of the Year,the other’s shagging trannies.
PS:Sorry for the boring story.
loved the story mate its good to know how people fell in love with the club
When we signed Cristiano i said to a friend of mine – “He will be the best player in the World”
I remember that day.
That was pretty confident of you,Corea.
FIFTEEN!!! Oh Bless! Like GHTT says you seem to know your history!
It was,in fact,a 4-1 win.
i got a tip off my brother on c.ronaldo signing for united
and being stupid i brought my united jersey to jjb and got ronaldo(no number) on the back
2 days before he signed
id to go back to collect in in an hour and when i came back id to que up with my jersey hanging behind the till backside out and everyone in the que was muttering that united must have signed the fat ronaldo
luckely c. ronaldo did sign
and a bloke i worked with paid for the 7 to go on the jersey as he lost a bet that this kid wasnt going to sign
@King Eric:Thank you.
HAHA!!Well done,ghtt!!
Just like to remark on a few things.
Regards Pique – I watched them in the youth teams and reserves. Pigue had the stature to be a great Centre back, but Evans was by far the better defender of the two. Pique wanted 1st team football and in all honesty who would you rather have Vidic or Pique? Rio or Pique?. Thats a no brainer. And don’t forget Barca have a shit defence, not one of them would get into Uniteds 1st choice. Before i get bombarded yes I know they
had the best defence in La Liga, think that says more about La liga than their defence and no-one really got past their midfield to get at their defense.
The Real turds got credit from spainish bank Satander. They own Nationwide Abbey etc in Uk. I closed my abbey accounts months ago when i heard they were finacing Real shit and told my bank manager that. Never ever drink carlsberg makes me sick
“Never ever drink carlsberg makes me sick”
i did it yesterday. oh poor me
but good point.
@RedHarry: so do I…never ever I drink Carlsberg, and my mobile phone is for years a sony ericsson…never ever buy a samsung phone!
@ghtt, boogeyman:
how i became a united fan: i was born in the US, my family is originally from a french colony in india, so i have a lot of family in france… in 1993 (when i was 9), we flew to paris via heathrow. my brother bought a soccer magazine with a certain left footed wizard on the cover… i read the article about him and my brother and i have been united fans ever since. GIGGS WILL TEAR YOU APART AGAIN!
I was 6 when I became a United fan in 1990. I have two older brothers. One is a United fan, the other is a Liverpool fan. There was a big power struggle, they both wanted me to follow their team. In the end the United brother won me over, I don’t exactly remember how, I think he gave me a jersey and some merchandise. I find it very scary to think back and realize how easily thinks could have turned out otherwise. Since then I’ve gone to Old Trafford once. I doubt I’ll be going again in the near future because of the economic crisis and because of the fact the currency in Iceland is fucked at the moment. I’m also a student = low on cash. But I hope I’ll have the chance to go again soon.
i was born in 1985, my first memory of united was getting the yellow and green kit with the cord for my birthday
@sanj:Pondicherry??
@Gudjohnsen:The same thing almost happened to me.
@theboogeyman, yes, pondicherry!
@gudjohnsen/boogeyman
looks like you picked the right side!
I know!
I was born in 1993 and support UTD basically because my dad made me. Let’s just say that it ain’t bad supporting a team with the history, tradition, style and spirit of Manchester United.
I remember watchin the treble winning goal but I didn’t celebrate because I had no idea of how big the occasion was. I have followed UTD week in week out since the 02/03 season. My first time at the Mecca was against Fulham when Ruud scored a hat-trick, including that super solo goal. That goal cemented Ruud as my favourite all time player. Love the guy. Legend in my eyes. Something like 150 goals in 250 games, and that’s with him losing his pace after his 3rd season due to injury. Fantastic.
Me and my dad manage to go about 5/6 times a year. Love it. I even managed to get my girlfriend to come to the Spurs game this year. Just me and her. I think she was pretending she didn’t know me during the second half, I’m not surprised because I was jumping around like a fucking mentalist and swearing at the Yids below us.
She loved it though. She said the atmosphere was great and she wants to go again. I said I ain’t made of money but we will definetely go again and again. The week after was coming up to her birthday and she said she just wants the White shirt with 10 ROONEY. I was ecstatic at that. I forked up the cash and now I’ve turned her into a die hard UTD fan. Yes, it can be done.
Anyway, the main reason I LOVE our club is because they will NEVER DIE. Case in point, we lost 2-0 away to Pompy and the ABU media were saying we couldn’t improve. 3 days later we destroy Roma 7-1. I was there.
Thanks for reading my boring post.
Douglas Costa – No good post mate, our fans get younger and younger and fair play to you, you seem to know United’s history. NIce one for getting your girlfriend interested. My wife is 34 and she has never been but my old man is away for first two home games so taking her to Brum and Arsenal matches. She will love it.
Agree Ruud was an absolute goal machine, 150 goals in 220 games and 38 European goals. What a record.
Thanks King Eric.
Yeah she is a great girl. I think we probably got a dis-functional relationship because we both love UTD more than each other. I wouldn’t have it any other way to be honest.
I never really had planned to learn about the history and tradition, but as you get older you find out more and more and then want to learn more yourself. I’ve been a One United member for 4 years and I get a lot of information from the packs I get every year. I just wish I was alive to see Duncan Edwards, Sir Bobby Charlton, Denis Law, George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona all play. Bryan Robson is my dads favourite all time player. He says he’s that Rooney has a bit of Robbo in him.
I honestly believe that, if I could have chosen who to support, I would have looked at the history of UTD and Liverpool and chosen UTD because in my opinion our history is more impressive. Also the fact that at present, UTD are the biggest and best team in the world might have swayed me. :]
The last paragraph with the interview with Aon is the best. We don’t know anything about football, so we’ll just leave it to the manager. GOOD IDEA.
Robbo was MY boyhood idol Douglas!
@king eric
Coincidental. My favourite player of all time is Van Nistelrooy but I can guarantee that Wayne Rooney will take that title. I love everything about him. His raw talent, passion, and the fact that he kisses our badge against his boyhood team. Also he admitted to hating Liverpool.
Can I ask what is your favourite match you have been to. I presume you’ve been to many more matches than me.
Certainly last season was the Villa game. It looked like we were gonna fuck up again against Villa when Ronnie scored then up popped Kiko on his debut with THAT goal. The atmosphere was electric and was the turning point for United’s season.
You picked a right game to take your girlfriend to though mate, the Spurs game.
Barca European Cup Semi final would have to be my favourite though. Old Trafford was electric that night and the occasion and Scholesy’s goal.
@king eric
I wouldve payed anything to be at the Villa game. Roma was my clear favourite match until spurs. Suppose the Villa game was similar as we were behind and up against it but the Spurs game was on a different scale.
The whole day was immense. My girlfriend and I got a train to OT. The first half was plain depressing and I just told her that “I hate football”. Then the penalty. Ronny scores and the atmosphere was rising. Rooney equalized and we were buzzing. And then Ronny puts us in front and it was bedlum. I’ll always remember that day for the rest of my life. Also because of that game. I will never hold a big grudge on Ronaldo. That day he was awesome. Him and Rooney were unplayable.
Another reason for it being my favourite game is after the game we saw Jonny Evans leaving the ground and we both got his autograph and a pic. He’s a top guy.
Sir Alex is a General Manager ??
No.
More like Supreme Commander Manager !!!
its good to have this sponsorship.but we need new owners to make united stronger than ever