Football Manager have been forced to ditch the name ‘Manchester United’ from their title after a settlement was made between the club and game developer Sports Interactive.
The settlement reached will now see Manchester United referred to as ‘Manchester UFC’ or ‘Man UFC’ in the upcoming game set to be released.
And it seems we are not the only one’s confused by this development. Fans of the game are just as lost by this.
It's just a name on a football game yet Manchester United took their time to go through all this trouble to remove their name from the game😐
— paint thinner connoisseur Ⓐ🏴 (@1903hypebeast) August 6, 2021
This is, of course, not the first time a club has opted out of having their name in Football Manager.
Juventus are one who have dropped their name out of the game as well. Football Manager refers to them as “Zebre” as a result.
This agreement means that Manchester United will not have their name in this year’s game, or going forward.
In a statement released on Friday morning, Sports Interactive and Manchester United said this in a joint-statement.
"Manchester United and Sega have agreed a settlement to amicably resolve their trademark dispute relating to Football Manager.
"Both parties are pleased to resolve this matter to their mutual satisfaction."
Manchester United and Sega have agreed a settlement to amicably resolve their trade mark dispute relating to Football Manager. Both parties are pleased to resolve this matter to their mutual satisfaction. pic.twitter.com/OQXeY7nMXP
— Football Manager (@FootballManager) August 6, 2021
It is hoped that the settlement will address some concerns among the fan communities that Manchester United intended to target the ability for Football Manager players to import their own logos and shirts for club teams.
While the fan community continues to share these logo packs, many of them are now shared without the logo for Manchester United following legal complaints from the club.
Sports Interactive stated: "These name changes have been made purely to settle the dispute on a no admissions basis.
"SEGA and Sports Interactive maintain that they do not need a licence to use the 'Manchester United' name but have made the change as a gesture of goodwill so that both parties can move on," the games developer added.
Juventus’ name change in the game came as a result of their partnership with Konami in 2019, however.
When asked for a statement by Sky Sports, a club spokesperson for Manchester United said they were happy with the outcome.
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