Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
Manchester United Demanding £450 Million Nike Kit Deal
Manchester United will attempt to reach a new kit manufacturing deal with Nike in the coming months, which could see The Red Devils earn up to £35 Million per annum and over £450 Million over a period of more than a decade. The current deal with the world's no.1 sports brand expires in 2015, and will soon be renegotiated...
The France national football team recently agreed a €42.5 (£38) Million-a-year contract with Nike, lasting 7½ years. The total amount paid to The French Football Federation (The FFF) will eventually reach €319.5 (£282) Million, setting the tone for new kit manufacturing deals negotiated with American-based sports brand, Nike. Due to the fact that United obliterate France's global popularity, Nike will have to pay at least £35 Million per year to The Reds in future.
Talks have not yet commenced, but are expected to conclude before 2012. The current 13 year deal ends in 2015, having been agreed in August 2002 after Umbro, Admiral Sports and Adidas had all previously manufactured the club's kits and other merchandise. United currently receive less than £23.5 Million each year from Nike - amounting to £303 Million over more than a decade. The new deal is expected to be boosted by over £10 Million per year.
Talks have not yet commenced, but are expected to conclude before 2012. The current 13 year deal ends in 2015, having been agreed in August 2002 after Umbro, Admiral Sports and Adidas had all previously manufactured the club's kits and other merchandise. United currently receive less than £23.5 Million each year from Nike - amounting to £303 Million over more than a decade. The new deal is expected to be boosted by over £10 Million per year.
Manchester United and Nike have been in partnership since late 2002
Recent contracts have seen United's world-record kit deal broken, with France and Barcelona both earning long-term arrangements with Nike worth £38 Million and £26.3 Million every year respectively. Added to this is the fact that rivals Liverpool are dropping kit creator Adidas for New Balance 'Warrior Sports' for the beginning of the 2012/2013 season, having agreed a £25 Million-a-year pact, over a currently unspecified time frame.
Considering Manchester United outsell any other sports team in the world in terms of merchandising, Nike or United cannot afford to lose their lucrative agreement. According to sources, The Glazer Family are targeting a £450 Million deal with Nike, over a period of more than 10 years - most likely 13 years. That would bring-in upwards of £35 Million to Old Trafford annually from Nike alone, not to mention approximately £100 Million in other sponsorship payments.
...Combined, enough to clear off our £600 Million debt figure over a number of years.
Considering Manchester United outsell any other sports team in the world in terms of merchandising, Nike or United cannot afford to lose their lucrative agreement. According to sources, The Glazer Family are targeting a £450 Million deal with Nike, over a period of more than 10 years - most likely 13 years. That would bring-in upwards of £35 Million to Old Trafford annually from Nike alone, not to mention approximately £100 Million in other sponsorship payments.
...Combined, enough to clear off our £600 Million debt figure over a number of years.
Rooney The White Monster Is Ready with his Blistering Form To Tear Down Shalke 04
It has been some time since we have seen what may be described as the real Wayne Rooney. The 2010-11 model has been a shadow of what we have known before.
Nevertheless, as the Manchester United forward prepares to return to the scene of one of his career low points in Germany on Tuesday night, he appears on the brink of one of the purple patches of form that can be so impressively devastating.
It is almost five years since Rooney's tangle with Ricardo Carvalho in Gelsenkirchen earned him a red card as England tumbled out of the World Cup against Portugal. Now he returns to the same stadium as United face Schalke in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Matchpack: Schalke 04 v Manchester United
Team news and match facts ahead of the Champions League semi-final, first leg between Schalke 04 and Manchester United 
TEAM NEWS
Schalke coach Ralf Rangnick rested several players in their 1-0 home defeat to Kaiserslautern on Saturday. "We will have a different starting team against United," said Rangnick, who took over from sacked Felix Magath a month ago. "If I had chosen the same team on Tuesday that I did today I don't think we would have a big chance to win against Manchester." Peruvian Jefferson Farfan, who missed the quarter-final second leg against Inter, will be back in midfield while defenders Benedikt Hoewedes, Atsuto Uchida and Hans Sarpei should also return. Midfielder Jose Jurado, who came on as a substitute on Saturday, is also expected to start in Schalke's maiden Champions League semi-final appearance.
United beat Everton 1-0 on Saturday to close in on the Premier League title and Javier Hernandez and Wayne Rooney both played the full 90 minutes in scorching conditions after Dimitar Berbatov was ruled out with a groin problem having missed the previous game with a virus. It was hardly the ideal preparation for Tuesday's trip and, although Ferguson did rest Nemanja Vidic and Michael Carrick, substitutes Patrice Evra and Ryan Giggs were both forced into action as Everton proved a tough nut to crack. Nani and Antonio Valencia both played against Everton, the latter setting up the goal, but Alex Ferguson is likely to keep things tighter for the first leg with Nani probably the man to miss out for the midfield security provided by Carrick.
MATCH FACTS
Schalke are aiming to be the fourth German team to reach a Champions League final after Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen and the second in a row after Bayern last season.
Schalke, unbeaten in their last nine European games, a club record, have scored 10 goals in their last three but have not kept a clean sheet in any of the last five. They have won all five home games in the CL this season, scoring at least twice on each occasion.
Schalke have won only one of their last six games against English teams and have not scored in any of their last three. They lost at home to United's neighbours Manchester City 2-0 in the last such meeting in the UEFA Cup two seasons ago.
Schalke's Spanish striker Raul has netted five times in his first season with the German club after his long distinguished career with Real Madrid and has now increased his European and CL record to 71 goals in 140 games, more than one in every other match.
United are aiming to reach their third CL final in four seasons and could end up in a rematch of their 2009 clash with Barcelona, which they lost 2-0. They beat Chelsea on penalties the previous year.
United, beaten by Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals last season, have won only seven of 19 CL games against German clubs though they have won four of the last five and six of the last eight. They have scored on each of their last eight visits to Germany though they have won only twice in those games.
Amazingly, United, unbeaten in their last 11 CL matches, have not conceded a single goal in any of their five CL away games this season. They have kept 13 clean sheets in their last 18 CL away matches.
United midfielders Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes have appeared in more CL games than any player other than Raul. Giggs has played in 124 and Scholes in 119 to Raul's record 140.
ODDS
Schalke 9/4 Draw 11/5 Manchester United 5/4
Manchester United Champions League Facts
Manchester United players' individual factfiles:
Manchester United (England)
Champions League appearances: 16
CL record: 2 titles(1999, 2008), 3 finals, 7 semi-finals, 12 quarter-finals
CL match record: P173 W94 D45 L34 F297 A157
Other European titles: European Cup 1 (1968), Cup Winners Cup 1 (1991)
Overall match record: P288 W156 D77 L55 F526 A271
Coach: Alex Ferguson (Scotland)CL Record: P173 W94 D45 L34
CL matches this season: P10 W7 D3 L0 F12 A3
14.09.10 GP H v Rangers 0-0
29.09.10 GP A v Valencia 1-0 Hernandez
20.10.10 GP H v Bursaspor 1-0 Nani
2.11.10 GP A v Bursaspor 3-0 Fletcher, Obertan,
Bebe
24.11.10 GP A v Rangers 1-0 Rooney pen
7.12.10 GP H v Valencia 1-1 Anderson
23.02.11 KO A v Olympique Marseille 0-0
15.03.11 KO H v Olympique Marseille 2-1 Hernandez 2
6.04.11 QF A v Chelsea 1-0 Rooney
12.04.11 QF H v Chelsea 2-1 Hernandez, Park
Scorers: Hernandez 4, Rooney 2, Anderson 1, Bebe 1, Fletcher 1, Nani 1, Obertan 1, Park 1
Squad
(A/G=CL Appearances/goals, 1=current season, 2=with current club, 3=total career)
Goalkeepers A/G1 A/G2 A/G3 Other clubs Edwin Van der Sar (Netherlands) 7/0 52/0 96/0 Ajax/Juventus Tomasz Kuszczak (Poland) 2/0 10/0 10/0 Ben Amos (England) 1/0 1/0 1/0 Anders Lindegaard (Denmark) 0/0 0/0 0/0 Samuel Johnstone (England) 0/0 0/0 0/0
Defenders Chris Smalling (England) 8/0 8/0 8/0 Patrice Evra (France) 7/0 44/1 65/1 Monaco Nemanja Vidic (Serbia) 7/0 40/2 40/2 Rafael Da Silva (Brazil) 6/0 14/0 14/0 John O'Shea (Ireland) 5/0 70/2 70/2 Rio Ferdinand (England) 5/0 69/1 76/2 Leeds Utd Fabio Da Silva (Brazil) 5/0 7/0 7/0 Wes Brown (England) 2/0 63/1 63/1 Jonny Evans (N Ireland) 2/0 14/0 14/0 Joe Dudgeon (England) 0/0 0/0 0/0 Oliver Gill (England) 0/0 0/0 0/0
Midfielders Michael Carrick (England) 9/0 50/3 50/3 Nani (Portugal) 9/1 35/3 41/4 Sporting Park Ji-sung (S Korea) 7/1 32/3 48/4 PSV Eindhoven Ryan Giggs (Wales) 6/0 124/26 124/26 Darren Fletcher (Scotland) 6/1 52/2 52/2 Paul Scholes (England) 4/0 119/23 119/23 Anderson (Brazil) 4/1 27/1 30/1 Porto Antonio Valencia (Ecuador) 4/0 13/2 13/2 Gabriel Obertan (France) 3/1 6/1 14/1 Bordeaux Darron Gibson (Ireland) 2/0 8/1 8/1 Magnus Eikrem (Norway) 0/0 0/0 0/0 Oliver Norwood (N Ireland) 0/0 0/0 0/0 Ryan Tunnicliffe (England) 0/0 0/0 0/0
Strikers Wayne Rooney (England) 7/2 60/20 60/20 Javier Hernandez (Mexico) 7/4 7/4 7/4 Dimitar Berbatov (Bulgaria) 6/0 21/4 47/11 B Leverkusen Michael Owen (England) 1/0 7/4 27/11 Liverpool/
Real M Bebe (Portugal) 1/1 1/1 1/1 William Keane (England) 0/0 0/0 0/0 Joshua King (Norway) 0/0 0/0 0/0
Also played Federico Macheda (Italy) 2/0 4/0 4/0 (now with Sampdoria)
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