Standard Chartered To Become Liverpool's Sponsor

ROB HARRIS

LONDON (AP) — Standard Chartered bank will replace the Danish beer Carlsberg as soccer club Liverpool soccer club's primary sponsor next season in a deal worth 80 million pounds ($134 million) over four years.

Carlsberg had sponsored the 18-time English champions since 1991 but had only been paying about 7 million pounds annually in recent years for the right to appear on the club's jerseys.

Liverpool managing director Cristian Purslow said Monday the cash injection will speed construction of a new stadium. Since buying Liverpool in 2007, American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. had been surprised by the club's inability to exploit its global status through commercial deals.

Standard Chartered had been trying to sponsor Manchester United before the Premier League champions completed a deal in June with Chicago-based insurance broker Aon Corp. that starts next season.