MAN-U LOOK GOOD: U.K. SOCCER CLUB INKS $439M DEAL W/NIKE

          Manchester United (ManU) "agreed to a world-record"
     uniform deal with Nike for US$439M over 15 years, according
     to Daniel Taylor of the London GUARDIAN.  The deal, to be
     announced Monday, is "due to start" when ManU's current deal
     with Umbro expires in two years and "will eclipse any other"
     in the soccer industry.  The deal will be "worth an
     estimated" $29M per year, surpassing the "current world-
     record" ten-year deal between Nike and the Brazilian
     Football Federation, which is worth about $10M per year and
     "covers all the country's national teams, including junior
     and women."  Taylor: "Nike has taken the dramatic step in a
     move to gain a stranglehold of the world football business
     after seeing the basketball market fall" (GUARDIAN, 9/28).