Man City land five-year sponsor deal with Nissan

Ferran Soriano (R), CEO of City Football Group, which owns Manchester City Football Club, gives a Manchester City shirt to Carlos Ghosn (L), CEO and president of Nissan Motor, during their joint press conference at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama, suburb of Tokyo. (AFP/Toru Yamanaka)

TOKYO: English Premier League champions Manchester City have landed a five-year sponsorship deal with Japanese automaker Nissan, both parties said on Thursday.

Financial terms of the deal, announced at Nissan's global headquarters in Yokohama, were not disclosed, but City called it the "most significant of its type in the Premier League".

Chevrolet, part of General Motors, sponsors City's bitter cross-city rivals Manchester United, swelling the club's coffers by an estimated $70 million a season.

The partnership between Nissan, which owns Japanese club Yokohama F-Marinos, and City follows an initial agreement in May in which Manchester City's holding company City Football Group (CFG) took a minority stake in Yokohama.

City, who pipped Liverpool to the Premier League title last season in a dramatic run-in, are currently ranked as the world's seventh richest club by Forbes, with Spain's Real Madrid and Barcelona topping the list.

City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak hailed the tie-up with Nissan.

"Through our investment in, and support of, the Yokohama F-Marinos it has become very clear that Nissan and CFG also share a common passion and ambition for further growth and development," he said in a statement.

Nissan's chief executive Carlos Ghosn called the partnership a "key platform to further strengthen our brand globally".

City, bankrolled by oil tycoon owner Sheikh Mansour, head of the Abu Dhabi United Group, said Nissan would enjoy a "strong presence at the Etihad Stadium and on digital platforms" as part of the agreement.

CFG has a global network consisting of City, Melbourne City of Australia's A-League and New York City Football Club, a Major League Soccer team.

Nissan agreed to a lucrative four-year deal with the UEFA Champions League earlier this year.

As part of the deal announced Thursday, Nissan will see its electric vehicles used at the City Football Academy due to open later this year as it looks to boost its brand in overseas markets, City said on their website.