Manchester United have withdrawn their sponsorship deal with Aeroflot: Reports

Manchester United have withdrawn their sponsorship with Russian airline Aeroflot following President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

A Manchester United spokesperson has spoken on the decision in light of Russia and Ukraine's current conflict, saying (via Simon Stone):

"In light of events in Ukraine, we have withdrawn Aeroflot's sponsorship rights. We share the concerns of our fans around the world and extend our sympathies to those affected."

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The decision comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson began sanctioning Russia for its decision to invade Ukraine, with football becoming increasingly involved in such sanctions.

Aeroflot has been Manchester United's main sponsor since 2013 and both parties agreed a new deal back in 2017.

They did not use the airline for their UEFA Champions League game against Atletico Madrid in Spain. There are now rumors that the club will use Qatar Airlines in the future.

Manchester United's announcement the first of many repercussions that affect the Premier League?

Could Abramovich's ownership of Chelsea be at risk?

With Manchester United stating their decision to withdraw their sponsorship with Aeroflot, there will be more pressure on teams with Russian involvement to follow suit.

One huge debate being had at the minute both in the football world and within parliament is Chelsea's ownership.

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has owned Chelsea since 2003 and has transformed the side into one of Europe's top teams.

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Last season they won the UEFA Champions League and most recently the Club World Cup earlier this month. Under Abramovich, the Blues have become one of England's most successful sides in the past decade.

A Labor Member of Parliament has urged the Prime Minister to sanction the Russian Billionaire. Many Russian businessmen have been sanctioned already due to connections with President Putin.

Chris Byrant told MPs in the House of Commons:

"Surely Mr Abramovich should no longer be able to own a football club in this country? Surely we should be looking at seizing some of his assets including his £152m home?"

The UEFA Champions League final has also been moved from Zenit St Petursberg's Krestovsky Stadium (the Gazprom Arena) to the Stade de France.

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It is clear that President Putin's invasion of Ukraine continues to have a huge effect on the football world. The consequences of his actions could damage the likes of Chelsea.

However, the footballing world is showing its togetherness in such a tough situation.

About the author

Matthew is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who has been covering news, rumors and match reports for close to 3 years. Learning creative writing from University of Essex, he combined his skills and passion for football take up writing for the sport professionally.

Matthew always strives to go beyond a story and offer unique and lesser-known insights, while maintaining an unbiased tone in his articles. His reporting exploits at the company have helped him gain a humungous readership of 25 million, with one of his articles raking in a whopping 724,000 reads.

A Manchester United fan since childhood, Matthew admired Sir Alex Ferguson for his loyalty and brave coaching style. His favorite footballer is Thierry Henry, believing the Frenchman to be uniquely talented and charismatic. An ardent Three Lions fan, England's penalty shootout win over Colombia in 2018 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment of all time, and he believes that Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe will have a Ballon d’Or duopoly after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

He also follows his local EFL League Two clubs AFC Wimbledon and Sutton United, and spends his free time watching and writing about professional wrestling. He also likes to work out, watch movies and go for night outs.

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Edited by Aditya Singh