SportBusiness.com

UNITED 'TO SIGN $104m DEAL'

English Premier League giants Manchester United are set smash the soccer shirt sponsorship record this week when they unveil a new $104m (£60m) deal.

According to a report in the News of the World newspaper, the Old Trafford club have inked a four-year deal with poker giants Mansion.

The new deal will replace the existing deal with Vodafone, which the mobile phone company opted to end at the end of the current season.

The paper claims lawyers will sign off the deal today or tomorrow.

It easily eclipses champions Chelsea’s £50m five-year deal with Samsung.

It is claimed other companies interested in the United deal were Etihad Airways, LG and, somewhat surprisingly given their existing deal with Premiership rivals Arsenal, mobile phone firm 02.

Based in Gibralter, Mansion is owned by Indonesian billionaire Putera Sampoerna, a man who became one of the wealthiest in the world after selling his cigarette operation to Philip Morris in a deal worth £3bn.

It is believed Mansion are keen to build their brand and business in Asia and the Far East – areas in which United have traditionally had a strong fan base.