Manchester United Signs Adidas Jersey Sponsorship & Moves Close To Signing Juventus And Chile Star Arturo Vidal

Manchester United are currently planning for their future, and after a horrific year on and off the pitch, they're doing everything they can to put things right. The club, today, announced a jersey sponsorship with Adidas, replacing Nike, next season.  It's reportedly the richest uniform deal in sports history, worth well over a billion dollars, and will last for ten years. With this new financial power, United are looking to land Juventus and Chile star Arturo Vidal, who would most certainly change their fortunes around on the field, considering he's considered the most complete midfield player around.

Adidas chief executive Herbert Hainer said this deal would benefit them and help them "to further strengthen our position in key markets around the world". He continued "We expect total sales to reach £1.5bn during the duration of our partnership." Adidas are rumoured to looking to making a retro uniform for their first United kit in many years.

Sean Hamil, who is the director of the Sport Business Center at London's Birkbeck College, believes this deal showed "an exceptional marketing and sponsorship team". He added "They have been able to secure this landmark deal in the sector, against the background of no Champions League football next season. This is clearly a major vote of confidence in the Manchester United brand. Also, it shows that leading English clubs are sufficiently robust in terms of global appeal that sponsors are making value decisions based on the long term and not just around one season."

Are Manchester United about to become a bigger club both on and off the field, and can these two deals help them achieve their targets?