Amad Diallo came off the bench in the 56th minute and buried a 90th-minute winner for Ivory Coast against Ecuador on June 11, becoming the first Manchester United player to score in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Fellow Red Devil Marcus Rashford has also found the net in the tournament, giving United’s contingent a strong showing on football’s biggest stage.
The goal and what it means for United’s brand
Diallo’s strike in Philadelphia was the kind of moment that turns promising players into household names. A substitute appearance, a last-minute goal, a clean sheet for his country.
What’s notably absent from United’s current sponsor roster? Any crypto company. Manchester United previously had a partnership with Tezos, the layer-1 blockchain, as part of the club’s training kit sponsorship. That deal represented one of the more prominent intersections of crypto and elite-level football. It’s no longer active.
Crypto’s football retreat
