Man Utd have announced two commercial deals this week - and two more could soon follow.
Having landed two major commercial partnerships in the past week, the anticipation is that a third will be on the way imminently for Manchester United. Both Coca-Cola and Sokin have come on board in recent days.
On Wednesday, United announced that global drinks giant Coca-Cola would become the club's official carbonated soft drinks partner in the UK and Europe in a multi-year deal which has been reported to be worth around £1million to United.
Then on Thursday came another announcement from the Old Trafford club that they had secured another multi-year partnership with fintech firm Sokin - who will become the club's official global business payments solutions partner in another boost to United's commercial portfolio.
The decline in competitive success over recent years has been impactful when it comes to United's commercial success. While the club is still seen as a global blue-chip brand where partnerships bring exposure, the rate of growth when it comes to commercial activity has not been at the rate of their 'big six' rivals, with United seeing a 10 per cent growth since 2019 up to 2023/2024.
That compares to Arsenal (97 per cent), Tottenham Hotspur (89 per cent), Liverpool (64 per cent), Manchester City (62 per cent) and Chelsea (25 per cent). Across that period, United have been surpassed by both City and Liverpool when it comes to annual commercial revenue.
They do have some major sponsorship inventory still to sell, with the naming rights to their revamped Carrington training complex that co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe toured this week on the block, as well as the training kit provider.
The club's previous deal with blockchain firm Tezos came to an end this summer and, for recently installed chief business officer Marc Armstrong, hired from French club Paris Saint-Germain earlier this year, finding partners for these opportunities was key.
The Tezos deal was worth around £24million per-year to United, while naming rights for the training ground likely to fetch some £20million per season plus, with Arsenal's deal struck with Sobha Realty last year worth £15million a year on a four-year agreement.
Ratcliffe, when speaking at the opening of the revamped training complex this week, said of United as a brand: "This is one of the most recognised brands in the world. It stands shoulder to shoulder with Coca-Cola and Apple."
With that in mind, United will see both pieces of sponsorship inventory as key to them driving revenues forward to enable them to stay within the confines of PSR, and be able to reinvest in the squad at a time when they are facing a period away from the Champions League and its riches for another season.
Not underselling the value of such inventory won't be lost on United's commercial department, and the hiring of Armstrong was designed to ensure that the Old Trafford club had the best operators to navigate the partnerships space at a time where they were struggling competitively, but also still had the leverage of being one of the most globally recognised brands in world sport.
The challenge for Armstrong and his team will be to wrestle back the commercial initiative from neighbours City and Liverpool, but a chunk of that will depend on whether or not head coach Ruben Amorim can deliver success on the pitch.
But commercial revenues should get a healthy bump soon, with both the training ground and training kit likely to see valuable partnerships struck up very soon.