Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Co, a joint venture between Dongfeng Motor Group Co and Nissan Motor Co, said it was "disappointed" by a decision by the Guangzhou Evergrande team that involved swapping its jersey advertisements related to the AFC Champions League final match over the weekend.
Guangzhou Evergrande claimed the 2015 AFC Champions League title on Saturday in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong Province, defeating the UAE's Al Ahli 1-0 at home in the second leg of the final.
However, the club surprised its advertising partner, Dongfeng Nissan, with the sudden swap of its ad into one for a newly established insurance subsidiary under the Evergrande Group.
Evergrande announced on Sunday that it had entered the insurance business with its equity purchase in Chongqing-based insurance firm Great Eastern Life Assurance (China) Co.
Dongfeng Nissan said it was "shocked by the club's unilateral decision to cancel its rights as a sponsor for the team," the company said late Saturday in a post on its official Sina Weibo account.
On November 10, Evergrande communicated verbally with Dongfeng Nissan, saying that it wanted to change the jersey ads. This request was turned down in written form by Dongfeng Nissan the following day, according to the Weibo of Guangzhou-based Southern People Weekly Magazine on Sunday afternoon. The publication cited a statement sent by Dongfeng Nissan.
A written document bearing Evergrande's request was only received by Dongfeng Nissan 1 minute before the soccer match began, after which players of the Evergrande team appeared in the stadium wearing jerseys with the ad for the Evergrande insurance firm.
Evergrande hadn't replied to Dongfeng Nissan as of 11:30 am Sunday, according to the statement posted on the Weibo of Southern People Weekly Magazine.
Guangzhou Evergrande is owned by Chinese real estate developer Evergrande Group and e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding.
Evergrande Group has been on a diversification course in recent years, expanding into sectors such as food, oil and bottled water.
Evergrande and Dongfeng Nissan agreed on the jersey deal on February 17, 2014, and the agreement was worth 110 million yuan ($17.24 million), according to a report on news portal yicai.com on Sunday.
Evergrande previously had a last-minute buyback of Dongfeng Nissan's ad rights for the team's AFC Champions League round of 16 match, held on August 27, 2014, according to media reports.
The Global Times did not succeed in reaching Dongfeng Nissan and Guangzhou Evergrande as of press time Sunday.
