(CNN) -- Having landed a world-record shirt sponsorship deal with General Motors in July, soccer team Manchester United is looking to cash in once more after buying out training kit partner DHL.
The English Premier League club signed a $559 million agreement with GM to have the Chevrolet logo on its shirts for seven years from 2014 onwards.
And, despite signing a $64 million training kit deal with logistics firm DHL in 2010, the Glazer family-owned team has already set its sights on securing a more lucrative endorsement.
"We have successfully negotiated an early buyout of our training kit agreement with DHL effective 30 June 2013," read a statement from one of the world's richest clubs, which has won the English league title a record 19 times and been crowned champion of Europe on three occasions.
Manchester United is the most valuable brand in football according to a report by independent consultancy Brand Finance. The global appeal and on-field success of the 19-time English champions has helped establish a brand worth an estimated $853 million.
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France Football magazine has released a list of the highest-earning players in world soccer. Three-time World Player of the Year Lionel Messi of Barcelona tops the list, earning $52 million in wages and sponsorship deals.
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Javier Pastore is the most expensive player in French football history after he cost Paris Saint-Germain a fee believed to be $56 million. But Pastore is not the first footballer to have swapped clubs for a hefty price tag.
Football's biggest transfers
"The significantly increased value of agreements concluded since entering into this agreement, such as our recent $559 million world-record shirt sponsorship with General Motors, leads us to believe that there should be strategic opportunities to further optimize the value of these rights."
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United has already announced two lucrative partnerships this month. First it entered into a three-year arrangement with Azerbaijani telecommunications company Bakcell, which became the club's first broadcast partner in the country.
Then food and beverage company Kagome became United's official soft drinks partner in Japan.
Despite incurring huge debts when the Glazers bought the club in 2005, United has remained one of the most profitable teams on the planet.
For the tax year ending June 30 2012, United's total income was £320.3 million ($516.3 million). Meanwhile, Forbes Magazine ranked Alex Ferguson's side as the most valuable in world sport, with a brand worth an estimated $2.23 billion.
On the pitch, Ferguson will be without Shinji Kagawa for one month after it was announced the Japanese playmaker aggravated a knee injury during Tuesday's European Champions League victory over Braga.
"Kagawa is out for three to four weeks with a knee injury," Ferguson told a press conference ahead of Sunday's match with EPL leaders Chelsea. "Playing on Tuesday didn't help. It is disappointing."
Kagawa joined United from German champions Borussia Dortmund in June and has so far scored two goals for the club.
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Bayern Munich's players and fans were distraught after losing Saturday's European Champions League to Chelsea, but the German team's brand was second on the list, valued at $786 million.
Real Madrid recently pipped Barcelona to the Spanish title, but both clubs have suffered setbacks financially. Both brands decreased, by 7% and 8% respectively, as a result of the eurozone crisis and its impact on the Spanish economy.
Chelsea's brand value was significantly boosted by the European triumph. The west London club, backed by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, is ranked fifth on the list valued at $398 million.
Manchester City's dramatic Premier League title win has increased the value of the Abu Dhabi-owned English club's brand, putting it eighth on the list, worth an estimated $302 million.
The 2011 Major League Soccer champions Los Angeles Galaxy had the honor of meeting President Barack Obama earlier this month. Galaxy, 50th on the list, still struggle to attract commercial rights deals which compare to the club's European counterparts.
Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o profited from joining big-spending Russian outfit Anzhi Machachkala from Inter Milan in August 2011.
England star Wayne Rooney penned a lucrative five-year contract with Manchester United in October 2010, after initially declaring that he wanted to leave the Old Trafford club.
Argentina striker Serguio Aguero is one of two Manchester City players in the top 10 after joining the Abu Dhabi-owned English Premier League club from Atletico Madrid for a reported $62 million in July 2011.
Aguero is joined on the list by City teammate Yaya Toure, the Ivory Coast midfielder who signed for the club from Barcelona in 2010. Toure signed a sponsorship deal with German brand Puma in October 2011.
Spain striker Fernando Torres joined Chelsea from EPL rivals Liverpool in a British-record transfer reported to be worth $80 million in January 2011. Despite his lucrative move, Torres has struggled to find the net during his spell in west London.
Brazil playmaker Kaka was briefly the world's most expensive player when he signed for Real Madrid from AC Milan in 2009. The reported$100 million fee Real paid for his services was beaten later in the same transfer window, when the Spanish club signed Ronaldo.
Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm completes the top 10. The Germany skipper attracted controversy last year for releasing a book in which he criticized the training techniques of former Bayern coaches Jurgen Klinsmann and Felix Magath.
Fernando Torres swapped Chelsea for Liverpool on the final day of the January 2011 transfer window. After moving for a British-record transfer fee, believed to be in the region of $80 million, Torres has scored just five goals in a little over 12 months with the club.
In 2001, Real Madrid broke the world transfer record to bring FIFA World Player of the Year Zinedine Zidane to Spain from Italian club Juventus. The fee for the French World Cup winner was reported to be €86.5 million ($115 million).
Real broke world transfer record again in June 2009, paying a reported $100 million to lure Brazil's Kaka away from Italian club AC Milan.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic moved to Real's archrivals Barcelona during the same transfer window. Barca paid Inter Milan a reported $65 million for the Sweden striker, but he lasted only one season before returning to Italy with AC Milan.
Kaka's time as the world's most expensive player was short, with Real smashing the transfer record once again to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United for a reported $130 million.
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