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Don't be fooled by Manchester United's Stateside anonymity

The Phillies take on the Cardinals in St Louis on Monday evening and, just in case it had escaped anyone's attention, the plug for ESPN's Monday Night Baseball coverage on the front page of the USA Today sports section offers a gentle reminder.

Louis Oosthuizen's stunning Open triumph leads the page, ahead of the latest update on the Mayweather Pacquiao on off 'super fight' and the scrapes in Sunday's NASCAR race at Gateway International Raceway.

Manchester United's presence in Philadelphia, following their arrival from Toronto on Saturday ahead of Wednesday's friendly against the Philadelphia Union, does not even make the paper.

Indeed, not until page 9 of the ten page sports pull out does 'soccer' merit a mention and that is reserved for Manchester City's 3 0 win against Portland Timbers on Saturday.

poloralphlaurenwholesaler.com United's first visit to the United States since 2004 their first trip to the home of the Glazer family since the American owners took charge in May 2005 is not front page or back page news in the States.

Soccer is way down the list and even United struggle to lay a glove on the established giants of US sport.

It is a total contrast to the coverage United receive everywhere else in the world.

Wherever Sir Alex Ferguson has taken his players in recent years Japan, China, South Korea, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa their arrival HAS been front page news.

polo ralph lauren outlet online In Riyadh, crazed fans accompanied the team coach from the airport to their hotel base by riding outside their car windows down the motorway at 2am.

ralph lauren outlet store Fans camped outside the hotel in Seoul for two days last year in order to catch a glimpse of Wayne Rooney, Ji sung Park and, bizarrely, Federico Macheda.

http://poloralphlaurenwholesaler.com/ All three of those players could walk down the street in Philadelphia and spend an hour shopping without being recognized.

But don't make the mistake of believing that the anonymity of United's star players in the States renders this pre season tour as a pointless attempt at 'cracking' America.

While the frenzied supporters in the Far East underline United's global popularity, the logos on their shirts tell you all you need to know about the value of heading Stateside.

The United States is where the big money comes from off the field for United.

Nike's huge 302.9m kit manufacturing deal and Aon's 80m shirt sponsorship package, which replaced a 14m a year deal with AIG, are the twin buttresses which form the basis of United's off field earnings.

Territory specific partnerships across the globe keep the money pouring in, but the big bucks come from the States.

Aon, the Chicago based insurance giant, was relatively unknown in the UK prior to their agreement with United. They also had little brand recognition in the Far East and India crucial markets for the company.