Manchester United approaches Sahara in hunt for shirt sponsor

Manchester United has begun a search for a new shirt sponsor to replace global insurance company AIG when its £19m per year deal runs out at the end of next season and has approached a number of firms including the Sahara Group in India.

Abhijit Sarkar, a spokesman for Sahara, told Reuters: "We can confirm that we have received a proposal for team sponsorship, it is an elaborate one."

AIG, which had to be bailed out by the US Government last year after massive losses on derivative contracts, is very unlikely to renew its sponsorship.

The club spokesman Philip Townsend told Bloomberg News that the club is confident it can better the revenue generated by the AIG deal.