Manchester United football club is the wealthiest and most recognizable sports brand in the entire world. They have the richest corporate and marketing sponsorship deals. The new shirt is here, as the club switched from Nike to Adidas. It was for a world record £750 million, or $1.1 billion. The new Manchester United kit is now on sale.
Follow paulmbanksArchives for July 2015
Changes among Liverpool FC forwards; more turnover on the way?
Liverpool certainly do have a lot to offer as strikers up front. Last year, they didn’t find the same combination of attackers that scored all those goals for them in 2013-14. It was a rather special forward group when you had Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling all content and clicking on all cylinders.
Brendan Rodgers, along with the club transfer committee, went out and bought a ton of forwards. They just want mad in their shopping for attack players.
Follow paulmbanksVIDEOS: Final teaser for new Manchester United kit
You already know what the new Man United shirt looks like, as Photos of the new Manchester United kit leaked online .The home red went on sale a week early in the United States. As you know Manchester United Football Club broke a shirt sponsor record when they switched from Aon to Chevrolet. They also broke a kit deal record for partnership with a manufacturer when they made the switch from Nike to Adidas. The new Manchester United kit deal is worth over $1.1 billion!
Follow paulmbanksMichigan State football has chip on their shoulder, literally
Michigan State football bares a striking resemblance to the Chicago White Sox in that both programs identify themselves by having a consistent chip on their shoulder. Lots of sports franchises utilize this motivation, but Michigan State and the White Sox have the same exact chip- the “we come second in our region” chip.
For MSU, the incessant oppressor is the Michigan Wolverines football program. For the Sox, it’s the Chicago Cubs. In both cases that chip defines the fan base. And it transcends winning and losing. It’s all about attention and branding.
Follow paulmbanksJoey Bosa #1 overall Draft Pick stock takes a minor hit
Ohio State Defensive End Joey Bosa is the safest and most legitimate NFL prospect playing in the nation right now. Or at least he was, until his suspension for the 2015 season opener was announced Thursday morning. Ohio State made this announcement, giving no reason for the suspension, just hours before Big Ten Media Days began, so naturally, Buckeyes Coach Urban Meyer was drilled about this during his podium session (as he should be).
Follow paulmbanksOhio State football players say “shit” and “crap” at Media Day
THE Ohio State University football player Josh Perry had THE quote of the day in Chicago for Big Ten Media Days part one yesterday. Perry was asked about Michigan’s new Head Coach Jim Harbaugh:
“is he the kind of guy that you think can restore this rivalry?”
Perry’s response was probably more clever than most of what the sportswriters in the room could come up with.
Follow paulmbanksVan Gaal admits one of four starting defender positions is open
Shortly after Paris St. Germain carved up the Manchester United defense, Manager Louis van Gaal admitted that his right central defender spot is totally up for grabs. In talking to the media following the 2-0 loss to PSG, Van Gaal sounded very high on new acquisition Matteo Darmian. And Left Back, you know the club is highly invested in Luke Shaw as they broke the all time British transfer record for a teenager to acquire him.
Follow paulmbanksVan Gaal unaware of Di Maria whereabouts, Blanc says PSG is close
Manchester United Manager Louis van Gaal sparred with reporters a little bit towards the end of the postgame press conference tonight. You can hear his back and forth with a reporter present in this audio file linked here.
Following Paris St Germain‘s 2-0 win over Manchester United, both managers were asked about the Angel Di Maria transfer saga. Van Gaal was of course coy in his response. He had some fun with it.
Follow paulmbanksTim Beckman unveils the 2015 Illini football version of “W.I.N.T.”
On Thursday, Illini football coach Tim Beckman spoke publicly for the first time since allegations of abuse were made public. He had the perfect platform to get his side of the story out there (or at least display some professionalism by saying the legal proceedings prohibit him from commenting).
He set up his audience by indicating that he had a big announcement to make. Beckman even made a dramatic pause. But he delivered nothing but marketing drivel and coachspeak buzzwords. All he did was introduce a new acronym catch-phrase/motivational mantra for his program.
Follow paulmbanksAUDIO: Laurent Blanc talks win over Manchester United
Paris St. Germain defeated Manchester United 2-0 tonight in a clash between two of the richest and most valuable football clubs in the world. With the win in the friendly, PSG have now claimed the International Champions Cup. After the game Blanc spoke with the media and we have the full audio embedded after the jump.
This is the first time these two European giants have ever met in their long illustrious histories.
Follow paulmbanksVIDEO: Manchester United pregame scoreboard intro
Paris St. Germain defeated Manchester United 2-0 tonight and clinched the International Champions Cup title. Yes, “title” in a preseason friendly. It’s oxymoronic, we know. Just be very glad that no one got hurt from either side in the final exhibition warm-up for both teams.
We’re just days away from the domestic regular season beginning for both sides.
Follow paulmbanksVIDEO: Pedro to Man United rumors inspire Barcelona fan to cry
Barcelona winger Pedro has been linked to both Chelsea and Manchester United this summer. Lately, the rumors have been all about Old Trafford because Angel Di Maria’s inevitable departure to Paris St. Germain would open up the perfect position for him. The Spanish media are claiming Pedro to the Red Devils is a matter of when, not if, with a rumored fee in the neighborhood of £20-£23 million.
Of course, nothing is close to being official yet.
However, that did not stop a female Barcelona fan from getting very emotional about the situation.
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