Manchester City rejected world record sponsorship deal

Manchester City reportedly rejected a deal that would have broken the world record for a sponsorship agreement with Rakuten before they signed a deal with Barcelona.

Rakuten, a Japanese e-commerce giant signed a world-record sponsorship deal worth up to £53million per year with the Spanish giants recently. However, Manchester City had already been offered the world record deal but they were unwilling to accept the deal due to one condition.

It is reported by Mundo Deportivo that Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano was contacted about the deal during the 2011-12 season. The final condition of the deal, however, led to the deal falling through. That condition, Mundo Deportivo claim was that Rakuten wanted Manchester City to switch from wearing light blue kits to red.

With Man City reluctant to accept that clause, talks broke down. The world record deal that Manel Arroyo, Barcelona's vice-president, revealed that the base payment was £48 million with up to £5.5 million in bonus payments. The deal overtakes the deal that Manchester United signed with Chevrolet.

JC