Manchester United Kept Afloat During Lockdown Thanks to Staggering £173m Sponsorship Deals

​Mattresses, wine and denim. 

These are three of the sponsorship deals that are helping to keep Manchester United ticking over and cope with the lack of match day revenue during the coronavirus outbreak.

Football has been suspended as a result of the pandemic, leaving clubs to make cuts all over the shop in order to keep themselves afloat.

Some clubs have deferred players wages, while others have controversially furloughed non-playing staff.

However, it has not come to that yet for Manchester United - although the club have not ruled out furloughing their 900-strong full-time staff to preserve jobs in the long-term - as they currently have Ed Woodward's variety of sponsorship deals propping them up.

According to the ​Daily Mail, the club are suffering less financial strain during the pandemic as they are less reliant on broadcast deals and matchday revenue than their fellow Premier League sides.

The report says that: "​United may be more resilient than most because of the strength of their business model."

A report published last July found that of the total commercial income of £275m generated last year, £173m of that came from United's sponsorship deals.

This is £50m more than rivals ​Manchester City made from commercial partnerships, and £94m more than ​Liverpool.

Despite the coronavirus outbreak, the Red Devils are on track to earn a similar amount this year

This comes from United's 61 separate commercial partners, ranging from an official wine partner, an official spirits partner, an official denim partner, and, of course, an official global mattresses and pillow partner.

The biggest sponsorship money United make comes from their shirt sponsor Chevrolet, which is a staggering £64m per year.

They also make £20m from Kohler Co, and £15m from Avon. 

The Red Devils will wave goodbye to their share of the their share of the £762m Premier League broadcast income should the season be scrapped.

However, due to their healthy financial position thanks to their array of commercial partners, United were one of the first clubs to promise goodwill payments to casual workers, and season ticket holders were guaranteed money back if home games are cancelled.