Manchester Utd approached Perodua for sponsorship, was rebuffed – P2 prefers local, non-partisan sports

Manchester Utd approached Perodua for sponsorship, was rebuffed – P2 prefers local, non-partisan sports

Here’s some entertainment for football fans who so happen are into cars. Sounds bizarre, but Manchester United has approached Perodua for a sponsorship deal. Yes, that once-great football club that dominated English football, approaching the maker of the Nippa for its logo!

If you think that’s some comedown for the Red Devils, guess what, the EPL club’s invitation was rebuffed by Rawang. This was revealed by Perodua chairman Tan Sri Asmat Kamaludin at the launch of the Perodua National Amateur Golf Series at Saujana Golf and Country Club today, reported by NST.

While I wasn’t there to witness what would have been a fun (and funny) press conference, this piece of gold apparently came from nowhere. Asmat was responding to a question about sponsorships for local football teams when he mentioned Manchester United.

“There have been requests, and there’s one team… I don’t know if I should say this, but I received a letter from Manchester United asking if we would put our logo on one of their shirts and sponsor them,” Asmat said.

Manchester Utd approached Perodua for sponsorship, was rebuffed – P2 prefers local, non-partisan sports

Arsenal fan and Perodua chairman Tan Sri Asmat Kamaludin, second from left

MU’s commercial department wouldn’t have known that they were approaching a Gooner. “If we do that for Manchester United, then it wouldn’t be fair to my Arsenal, you know?” Asmat said, declaring his allegiance to the North London club.

The P2 chairman said that the carmaker – Malaysia’s perennial market leader and now the No.2 carmaker in ASEAN by sales after Toyota – is open to sponsorship opportunities within Malaysia, but football teams are out of the question.

“If people ask for support, we will consider, especially for Malaysian sports. But we have to be selective. For example, in the M-League, I’m from Johor. If I support Johor Darul Ta’zim, I might lose support from customers in Selangor or Kelantan. So, we have to be very careful about who we support and sponsor,” he said, adding that Perodua prefers to support individual sports such as golf and tennis. P2 has been backing badminton for some time now.

Click to enlarge

If you’re wondering why Manchester United is going around with cap in hand, you might not realise that the club is a far cry from the all-conquering side (in both sporting and commercial terms) under Sir Alex Ferguson. United lost almost £300 million over the past three years and new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is considering further redundancies at the club after already sacking 250 staff, plus ending Ferguson’s status as a paid ambassador.

Infrastructure wise, Old Trafford, once the feared Theatre of Dreams, has of late made headlines for embarrassing things like a leaking roof and a rodent infestation – all while Ineos raised ticket prices and ended concessions for kids and pensioners. It’s reported that the club might even close their London office in Kensington to cut costs.

It’s not looking good on the pitch as well. After paying Sporting Lisbon £11 million to bring in Ruben Amorim (they also had to pay the sacked Erik ten Hag £10.4 million in compensation) mid-season, the Portuguese coach has won 10 and lost eight of his 20 games at the wheel (anyone missing Ole?). The Red Devils are currently 13th in the English Premier League.

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Danny Tan

Danny Tan loves driving as much as he loves a certain herbal meat soup, and sweet engine music as much as drum beats. He has been in the auto industry since 2006, previously filling the pages of two motoring magazines before joining this website. Enjoys detailing the experience more than the technical details.

 

Comments

  • newme on Feb 13, 2025 at 5:26 pm

    You rebuffed not because you don’t want but because you cannot afford.

    Anyway, just keep the money. Sponsoring local club won’t do any good too. How much can you earn with just RM10/ticket.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 12 Thumb down 8
    • Mu would have done their due diligence on P2’s affordability before approaching. This has nothing to do with P2 affording or not, this is a huge slap to MU. Good for P2 though, better not be associated with a mid-table club.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 4
  • Sohai on Feb 13, 2025 at 5:27 pm

    Malu MU, kena reject drpd Perodua

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 1
  • Hahahahahaha!!! Had to be Danny who published this.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • bobbyking on Feb 13, 2025 at 6:14 pm

    Good decision

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 1
  • Romeo Alfonso bin Kelembai on Feb 13, 2025 at 6:20 pm

    The Red Devils asking The Gunners die hard fan for sponsors? What a joke! LOL

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • Hmmmm on Feb 13, 2025 at 7:18 pm

    Hahahahahah…this is one funny real life event.
    It should be written in the history books.

    Even jaguh kampung like Perodua dont want to partner with Menyu United.

    Then again, i wonder what Menyu United saw in P2 that they go to the extent of approaching for a sponsorship deal.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 1
    • That Guy on Mar 12, 2025 at 10:16 am

      Did you not read the article? 2nd best in Asean sales, after Toyota. That’s what MU saw, money. I’m sure they hit up the other categories too, like

      Best in the world
      Best in Asia/all the other continents

      But like it or not, P2 is significant in the Asean market = money! Which MU desperately needs.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • BerokTua Emo lagi on Feb 13, 2025 at 7:21 pm

    Walao aa manyak aksyen!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 0
  • Imagine all MU footballers driving Axia to training ground,Amorin driving Bezza to office….lol

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0
  • Colin on Feb 13, 2025 at 9:29 pm

    I’m not sure this is true or not , because here’s the thing, out of nowhere, why would a famous Football Club ask Perodua for sponsorship…….when they can ask European car brands or Chinese car brands like BYD, NIO, XPENG, GREAT WALL, GEELY and DONGFENG for sponsorships, after all these car brands are more well-known Worldwide. All these are my thoughts and opinions, feel free to share your thoughts and opinions on this news
    Cheers guys

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 20 Thumb down 0
    • Hmmmm on Feb 15, 2025 at 3:22 pm

      Thats very easy…..Menyu WAS a famous football club. Its still famous today but for the ‘entertainment’ it gave on a weekly basis.

      The world knows they are making a loss plus not performing well. Their spending on players are questionable. Nobody wants to be part of a shady/rocky deal. Especially when their potential sponsors are not doing good themself.

      Chinese brand does not prefer sponsorship, they prefer ownership.

      Above all, no players want to be seen driving a ‘prode of the nation’ when leaving the training ground, not even the greatest defender in the world whom is playing for Menyu right now.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 3
  • Colin on Feb 14, 2025 at 8:49 am

    I’m not sure this is true or not , because here’s the thing, out of nowhere, why would a famous Football Club ask Perodua for sponsorship…….when they can ask European car brands  or Chinese car brands like BYD, NIO, XPENG, GREAT WALL, GEELY and DONGFENG for sponsorships, after all these car brands are more well-known Worldwide. All these are my thoughts and opinions, feel free to share your thoughts and opinions on this news
    Cheers guys

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 15 Thumb down 2
  • I thought they have partnership with Malaysia Airline to engage with Malaysian fans?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 1
 

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