Manchester City 21-22 Kits To Feature New Shirt Sponsor?

Apr 21, 2021

by Chris

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In 2011, Manchester City signed a record yet controversial sponsorship deal with Etihad Airways, worth 400m Euro over 10 years. Now the deal has entered its final year - will Manchester City's kits feature a new shirt sponsor from Summer 2021?

Manchester City Etihad Airways Deal Expires In 2021, After 10 Years

The Manchester City Etihad Airways main shirt sponsor deal will expire after the end of the 2020-21 season. The current Manchester City Etihad Airways deal was bundled with the stadium naming rights and other City assets, which has been controversially linked to Sheikh Mansour’s ownership interests.

City has hired an agency to look for a new shirt sponsor in January 2020

In January 2020, SportBusiness reported that City has hired an agency that is looking to source a new shirt sponsor. In July 2020, Forbes wrote an article about the deal, saying that it is well possible that Manchester City and Etihad will not continue the main sponsor deal.

Since Forbes' story from July 2020, there has been no news on Manchester City's Etihad Airways deal and a possible new shirt sponsor.

we think both parties will extend their 'partnership'

As COVID-19 has hit companies hard, we think it is most likely that Etihad Airways and Manchester City will agree to extend their 'partnership', at least for one season (as done by FC Barcelona and Rakuten).

In fact, Forbes says that "an extension is not out of the question - the airline’s name has been added to the shirts of many of Manchester City’s parent clubs".

Do you think Etihad Airways will extend its deal with Manchester City? Do you think that City would / will find a new shirt sponsor paying as much as Etihad does, also in times of COVID-19? Comment below.