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Football

05th Sep 2016

Manchester United’s penny-pinching set to end one of football’s most common traditions

Robert Redmond

This seems a bit unnecessary.

Manchester United may be valued at £2billion, and two years into a 10-year kit deal worth £750million, but it appears the Premier League club are still looking to cut costs.

The club have banned their players from swapping shirts with opposition players as it is “not cost effective,” according to a report in The Sun.

United shirts are set to be in-demand for the season with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba in their ranks, but the players have reportedly been told to ignore one of football’s most common traditions.

Manchester United v Crawley Town - FA Cup 5th Round

“They are asked not to swap shirts so they don’t have to be replaced. It seems daft given how much the club is worth,” a source told The Sun.

“The owners have a reputation for keeping an eye on costs.”

Players are understood to have been given two long-sleeve and two short-sleeve jerseys each, and the club reportedly don’t appreciate the shirts been handed over to fans either.

When United played Cambridge United in the FA Cup last year, the League Two side told their players not to swap shirts because the club were strapped for cash.

Manchester United don’t have that worry, but they may be looking to cut costs after an expensive summer in the transfer market.

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