Man Utd players get a good sleep－with Chinese help

As if being paid tens of thousands of pounds a week isn't enough, players at Manchester United, one of England's leading premiership teams which has a reputed 100 million following in China, are now getting a good night's sleep－thanks to the club's latest sponsor.

Shanghai-listed Mlily, a leading mattress and pillow maker, signed a five-year deal with the club to become United's first-ever official mattress and pillow partner.

That triggered an immediate outflow of puerile jokes on Twitter. Weibo (the Twitter-like social media platform) followers were even more caustic.

"Manchester United players can continue to daydream on the pitch," said one.

Club captain Wayne Rooney, currently struggling to maintain his place in the club's regular lineup, triggered this sarcastic comment from another Weibo user: "Rooney can only lead the starting lineup under this circumstance by getting more sleep."

Manchester United has form when it comes to sleeping patterns for its players.

Back in the club's most successful period, when Sir Alex Ferguson was in charge from 1986 to 2013, he introduced sleeping pods at the club's training ground.

It is the sleeping pods at the club's training facility that Mlily will equip with pillows and mattresses.

James Ni, founder of Mlily, told the club's website: "Our experience has resulted in stress-free sleep and healthier lives for customers. These results are now available to Manchester United players, and will find a wider audience due to our global partnership."

Manchester United made no comment.

Mlily's deal, for which no value was announced, is the latest in a stream of Chinese investment in European soccer.

In March this year Dalian Wanda Group became the first Chinese entity to become a full partner of FIFA, soccer's world governing body, signing a deal which will see it have sponsorship rights to the next four World Cup competitions.