Imagine the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney turning out to play for their club with the name of an Indian company prominently emblazoned on their shirts.
This is no idle fantasy. Manchester United, the world's biggest football club, has reportedly approached the Sahara group for a sponsorship deal.
Sources said the club has been seeking sponsors and has sent a proposal to Sahara - which supports the Indian cricket team - for sponsoring the team's shirt.
Abhijit Sarkar, the head of Sahara's corporate communication, confirmed receiving the proposal but declined to comment further.
When TOI contacted Man U, a club official said, "We have been in touch with a lot of sponsors and hope to strike something in the near future."
Currently, American International Group (AIG) has a contract for sponsoring Man U shirts for £56.5 million (about Rs 415 crore). The four-year deal began in 2006.
But with AIG being hit hard by the financial meltdown, the deal appears to have run into trouble. That could explain Manchester United's search for new avenues of sponsorship.
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