25 Nov 2008Bundesliga has highest shirt sponsorship income of European leagues

Football Sponsors/ Sponsorship and Media

New research released today (November 25th) has shown that the Bundesliga has trumped the Premier League with the total income value of its shirt sponsorships.

The tenth annual European Jersey report conducted by SPORT+MARKT found that giants Bayern Munich have the largest shirt sponsorship deal, ahead of Manchester United.

Hartmut Zastrow, the executive director of the company, has explained that the reasons behind the shift towards the German league are not strictly related to matters on the pitch.

He said: "The main reasons why the Bundesliga now generates higher income from jersey sponsorships than the Premier League lies in [clubs] lacking jersey partners and the current weakness of the British currency.

"The sponsor of West Ham United, XL airlines, went bankrupt, West Bromwich Albion have yet to find a partner and Aston Villa now bear the logo of a charity organisation on their jersey."

The study also showed that the total level of shirt sponsorship across the six top European leagues fell for the first time, hitting £336.2 million, down from the £344.2 million recorded for last season.

United signed the biggest shirt sponsorship deal in the history of the Premier League with troubled insurer AIG back in April 2006 - worth a staggering £56.5 million.

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