Manchester United's performance in recent years has been doubly frustrating, with negative press so bad that even sponsors have turned their backs on them. German tech giant TeamViewer, whose iconic status as a sponsor of the Red Devils' shirt chest ads, announced that it would not be renewing its contract with United after it was set to expire in 2026. What's even more ironic is that TeamViewer's share price soared 5% upon the announcement, as if the market had given its stamp of approval to the decision.
TeamViewer signed a five-year sponsorship deal worth up to £235 million with Manchester United in March last year. However, this was widely seen by market participants as not a wise move and TeamViewer's share price has fallen by almost 80% since the signing. Aside from the Russia-Ukraine war and the general decline in global tech stocks, the huge sponsorship of Manchester United was deemed to be inconsistent with the commercial benefits, which has also contributed to the sharp fall in the share price. It's no wonder that after only a year and a half of signing on, TeamViewer is rushing to announce that it won't be renewing its contract in a bid to boost the market's confidence in it.
In a statement, TeamViewer said the partnership with Manchester United significantly increased the company's visibility, but decided not to renew the contract after considering the macroeconomic environment and marketing strategy.
The incident reflects a downward trend in Manchester United's commercial value. The team's last shirt chest advertising sponsorship deal with Chevrolet brought in 64 million pounds a year, while the deal with TeamViewer has dropped to 47 million pounds a year. It is feared that the amount of the next sponsorship deal will shrink further if United's results do not improve significantly in the next few years.
