United fans: your replica shirts could be on the verge of going broke

According to today’s Sunday Times, insurance behemoth AIG,whose logo decorates the shirts of Manchester United, could be the next financial giant to be brought to its knees.

“AIG shares have slumped as the cost of insuring its debt has risen and concerns have grown that the company may be the next big American financial firm to run short of cash,” says the paper, leaving United and their fans with the embarrassing prospect of bearing the stamp of failure on their chests.

West Ham’s shirt sponsor, travel firm XL, went out of business earlier this week, leading the club to suspend all sales of their replica shirts bearing the XL logo while they looked for another benefactor. The Hammers yesterday ran out against West Brom without any shirt advertising.

If AIG should suddenly find themselves out of the insurance business, United will doubtless have little trouble finding some other corporate entity eager to pay generously to sit next to them. On the downside, these financial thunderclaps should come as a warning to bloated Premier League football teams as to just how easily the money pipe can get disconnected. On the upside, for Manchester United at least, they could soon have another whole new set of replica shirts available for their fans to buy.