English Premiership football club Manchester United has unveiled a record £56.5m sponsorship deal with US finance group American International Group (AIG).
The four-year agreement, under which AIG will replace mobile phone giant Vodafone as United's shirt sponsors next season, beats the £50m five-year deal won by Premiership leaders Chelsea with electronics giant Samsung in April 2005.
United, bought by US sports tycoon Malcolm Glazer last year, boasted that its new deal was the biggest of its kind in the history of English football.
The announcement followed a furious row between United and gaming group Mansion, which ditched talks over a deal potentially worth up to £70m because United was speaking to another suitor.
Negotiations with Mansion collapsed last weekend after the group accused United of 'unprofessional' conduct.
In February, AIG agreed to pay $1.6 billion to settle charges that it used misleading accounting techniques to artificially inflate its results. The settlement was reached between the insurance giant and New York state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York State Insurance Department.
