A prominent Manchester City sponsorship partner has ended its 11-year association with the club.
City will now be in the market for a new major sponsorship partner after Japanese company Nissan ended its collaboration with the football club.
It follows an agreement earlier this month between Man City and the Premier League, when the two organisations jointly released a statement confirming a settlement had been reached in relation to the long-disputed Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules.
What was Manchester City's APT dispute with the Premier League about?
City had initially launched a legal challenge against the Premier League's APT rules, which are in place to ensure commercial deals with companies linked to a club's owners are valued at fair market rate. City argued the rules were anti-competitive and unlawful.
Instead of engaging in another legal hearing, separate to the ongoing case regarding City's 115 charges, both the Premier League and Man City agreed to a settlement.
As part of the agreement, City accepted that the current, amended APT rules are valid and binding.
In 2023, the Premier League blocked a proposed new sponsorship agreement between Manchester City and Etihad Airways, the flag-carrying airline of the Emirati state (UAE). City are majority owned by the private equity company Abu Dhabi United Group controlled by the Emirati Royal Family.
The settlement with the Premier League has opened the door to City now agreeing the aforementioned sponsorship deal with Etihad Airways and other companies with links to the UAE, provided they abide by the amended APT rules.
As per Nikkei Asia, Nissan have ended their partnership with City Football Group (CFG), listed owner of Man City and a division of the Abu Dhabi United Group.
The decision to end their sponsorship with City is reportedly driven by a 'sluggish economic performance'.
Nissan became the first 'global partner' of CFG in 2014; the company has enjoyed strong brand visibility at the Etihad Stadium, as well as on the club’s online platforms since.
The exact value of the Nissan agreement has never been disclosed but it was rumoured in 2014 to be worth £20 million to City, a sum which is likely to have increased when a new deal was struck in 2019.
City have 35 'global partners' and as at 30 June, 2024, earned £344.7m in commercial revenue during the previous year.
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