Friends again

Gatorade, a subsidiary of PepsiCo, has again become an official partner of Milan for the current season after a deal was signed today. The American company whose product is the result of 45 years of research and sporting experience will have their logo once labelled on the Milan bench at the San Siro.

The deal was signed by Massimo Ambrosini, CEO of PepsiCo Italy, Adriano Galliani and Marco Bogarelli, president of Infront sports who acted as a the club’s sponsorship adviser over the deal.

During the meeting Galliani was presented with a historic glass bottle of Gatorade and a company advertisement from 1989, the year Milan one the first of their back to back European cups – the last time a club achieved this feat.

In return Galliani presented Ambrosini with a jersey of his namesake and our club captain, Massimo Ambrosini.

Gatorade will be provided to our players both during training and matches while the Gatorade Sport Science Institute will work alongside Milan’s medical staff in order to help improve the performance of the players.

Speaking of the deal, Galliani was quoted by the club’s official website, “Gatorade is one of the best known brands in the world of isotonic drinks. A name that immediately conjures up images of top sports people because where there’s Gatorade, there’s sport. We are really happy that today a company that has made its name in the sports research comes back as a collaborator to A.C. Milan, the Italian Champions.”

Ambrosini added, “It’s with great pleasure that we are once again a collaborator with a club of such prestige.

“We’re convinced that the Rossoneri will also appreciate the products quality and functionality with today’s odorless formula. The deal between the two goes beyond mere sponsorship because we’ll also supply a consultancy service for the players and staff. We’ll be looking to give the Milan staff all the help we can so that the Rossoneri will get the most out or our product, the fruit of 45 years of research in sports science. We know what we’re doing as our product contributes every day to improving the performance of millions of sports people, both professional and others. We can also offer the work done by the Gatorade Sports Science Institute which tests the benefits of our product every day,” he continued.

Gatorade is now back with the Rossoneri after four years. The sports drink also has sponsorship deals with Lazio, Inter, Roma and Udinese among other Italian clubs.

Bogarelli, whose company has been working with Milan in seeking various sponsorship deals said, “We’ve been following Milan since last season. Selecting only the best known sponsors whose values reflect the club’s own, we’re very satisfied with this new deal which will  allow Milan to add the name Gatorade to its list of sponsors and we hope that it can be the start of a solid and long lasting partnership.”

This latest deal is the last in a line of recent sponsorship deals the club has secured most notably with German car manufacturer Audi and Fly Emirates.