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Could Manchester City have a new shirt sponsor?

By J.C. Gonzalez

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JANUARY 04: General view outside the stadium prior to the FA Cup Third Round match between Manchester City and Port Vale at Etihad Stadium on January 04, 2020 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JANUARY 04: General view outside the stadium prior to the FA Cup Third Round match between Manchester City and Port Vale at Etihad Stadium on January 04, 2020 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) /
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According to SportBusiness, Manchester City are seeking to sell their shirt sponsor as the latest part of the club’s economic growth and development.

Current shirt sponsor Etihad, tied with Manchester City’s Abu Dhabi ownership, has been on the front of the shirt since 2009-10, but that could change in the coming seasons.

Since contracting out CAA Sports, an agency, with the aim of developing City Football Group as a global economic power in the world of football, the club could potentially use the front of the shirt to drive additional revenue growth.

The Citizens could generate an estimated additional £50 million in annual revenue by selling the sponsorship rights, which have been linked in past investigations of financial doping by the club’s hierarchy.

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Both the stadium naming rights to the Etihad Stadium and shirt sponsorship were packaged together in a 10-year deal beginning in 2011-12, meaning renegotiation on both deals will be imminent in 2020.

The Blues are in a much different place as a club then they were 10 years ago, and a new shirt sponsor could be the latest step in developing the club’s economic might in the world game. Bringing in revenue across all of CFG’s holdings will help grow the stature and financial potential in nearly every way, even if it means parting with what is now an iconic brand on the front of the shirt.

In some ways, seeing Etihad Airways appear on the front of the shirt seems almost intrinsically linked with the team’s success of the last decade. This is a positive change for the club, and one that will be the latest piece in keeping City at the table with other European giants in settings that go beyond the pitch and toward the business side of the game.

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