Nike fear of losing Barcelona to Adidas prompts record breaking kit deal
The curtain may have drawn on club football for another season however the competition among Europe’s elite continues to rage on in the form of commercial dealings and Spanish champions Barcelona look set to dominate proceedings with reports of a new record breaking kit deal with Nike.
The Catalan club are set to sign a 10-year extension to their kit deal with Nike in the form of a new £78.2m per-season contract.
The news comes by way of Catalan publication AS who previously reported in March that the sportswear giant was preparing a big-money offer for the La Liga club amid concerns that they could follow in the footsteps of Manchester United, who parted ways with Nike in the summer of 2014 to sign a £75m per-season deal with Adidas.
Adidas may have forced Nike’s hand in offering Barcelona such a lucrative deal given that the German sports brand’s new deal with arch rivals Real Madrid is worth a reported £106m per-season.
Competition between the two companies recently resulted in Premier League club Chelsea exiting their kit agreement with Adidas six years early in favour of partnering with Nike in a deal twice the value.
Adidas’ approach to its football sponsorships has saw it turn its focus on promoting its star players such as Paul Pogba and Gareth Bale rather than vastly increasing its kit supply agreements with clubs.