Manchester United’s principal shirt sponsor, TeamViewer, has decided it does not want to renew its sponsorship deal with the club - despite having only signed a five-year deal last year.
The German software company signed a deal worth £235m in March 2021 to replace Chevrolet on the torso of the United jerseys. TeamViewer's share price has dipped more than 70 per cent since the company's partnership with United was announced in March 2021.
Upon signing the deal last year, shareholders were not pleased and were put off by the impact the mega-money contract would have on company profits. Several reports in Germany say financial analysts were critical of TeamViewer's agreement with United from the off.
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A TeamViewer statement said: "The partnership (with United ) has clearly boosted the international recognition of the brand over the past year. Nevertheless, the company has decided to re-evaluate its long-term marketing strategy."
TeamViewer CEO Oliver Steil said: "The current macro-economic environment [including the effects of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine] has made decision-makers more cautious, and has postponed investments."
At the time of the deal being announced 17 months ago, a United statement said: "The partnership will introduce Manchester United and its 1.1billion fans and followers around the world to exciting new technology drawing on TeamViewer’s expertise in remote connectivity services. TeamViewer will enable Manchester United to bring its fans even closer to the team they love through ground-breaking AR solutions and remote access to the Theatre of Dreams.
"Germany-based TeamViewer has been installed on over 2.5billion devices, has nearly 600,000 subscribers, and operates in almost all countries globally. The company’s ambitions to harness technology to build bridges among people and businesses, and enable digital progress for everyone, makes it the ideal fit for a football club which has created a global community of fans spanning cultures and continents."
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