Aeroflot and Manchester United

Manchester United has added Aeroflot to its ever growing list of global sponsors.  It is the first Russian company to partner with the English soccer champions.  Red is official colour of both.

Aeroflot is a sponsor of the Sochi 2014 Olympics and replaces Turkish Airlines as United's partner in a five-year deal unveiled at the club's Old Trafford stadium.

 "It's a significant step for our first global partnership to be with one of the most successful and well-loved football clubs in the world", said Aeroflot Chief Executive, Vitaly Saveliev.

United claims to have over 650m fans worldwide and is carving out a lucrative series of global and local sponsorship deals.

Although United and Aeroflot may sound an unlikely combination, there is already heavy Russian investment in European soccer through owners including Roman Abramovich at Chelsea and sponsors such as Gazprom.

Etihad is the main sponsor of United's local rival Manchester City, while Emirates is partnered with Arsenal and Delta Chelsea.  At a lower level easyJet is the community and shirt sponsor of local club Luton Town.

General Motors last year agreed to take over as United's main shirt sponsor from 2014 in a seven-year deal worth US$559m.  The Aeroflot financial terms were not disclosed. www.manutd.com www.aeroflot.com/cms/en

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