Manchester United Reportedly to Sign Aeroflot Sponsorship

According to reports, Manchester United are close to sealing a sponsorship deal with Russian air carrier, Aeroflot which will be officially announced this summer.

Aeroflot, one of the oldest airlines in the world, will replace Turkish Airlines as the official airline of the Premier League giants.

The deal might be slightly surprising due to Aeroflot’s poor safety record but the Aeroflot perceive the deal as the stepping stone towards overhauling the image of the company both in Russia and in the world, which is especially important as Russia will host 2018 World Cup.

The reports also suggest the main component of the deal will be for United to travel with Aeroflot when they fly to and from Moscow

Steven Falk, Director of Star Sports Marketing, told iSportconnect: “If signed, Aeroflot will be the club’s third airline partner of recent years following on from Air Asia and Turkish Airlines.

“It is possible that Aeroflot will provide access to other potential sponsors in Russia, but the track record from previous incumbents suggests this to be unlikely with the less-than-prestigious Mr Potato being the only sponsor to come out of Malaysia during Air Asia’s tenure, and little yet seen from Turkey.”

The former Manchester United marketing director added: “There is little doubt of the effectiveness of MU’s sponsorship sales operation. However, the continual rotation of category partners suggests either that sponsors are unwilling to renew their relationship with the club beyond the initial contracted period or the club has no desire to keep existing relationships believing that a more lucrative deal is always available elsewhere.

“It will be interesting to see if this is sustainable over the long term and the impact on the club’s brand integrity of such a promiscuous approach to partnerships.”