Barcelona are hoping that their new Nike kits with hoops will help the club out-sell rivals Real Madrid and Manchester United.
Photos were leaked in December showing a controversial new jersey design that would dispense with the club’s 115-year history of wearing stripes at the start of the 2015-16 campaign.
The news was met with immediate condemnation from longtime Barcelona supporters. But it appears the consensus from fans from other countries were positive in regards to the horizontal stripes design.
Photos of the club’s new away kit have also reached the public. The daily publication SPORT has released images of the orange kit, which will four vertical red stripes on the back (symbolizing the senyera – the Catalan flag).
In recent years, Barcelona have been selling 1.1 million jerseys a season. The La Liga side trails Real Madrid (1.58 million) and Manchester United (1.49 million) in annual shirt sales. The Catalan club are hoping the controversial new design will spike jersey sales and allow them to overtake their European rivals.
It is also understood that Barcelona are in the process of renegotiating their deal with Nike. The agreement between the La Liga club and the US company will expire in 2018, and Barcelona officials would like the terms improved.
Nike’s current deal pays Barcelona £26 million annually. But La Blaugrana have seen what Adidas is paying Real Madrid (£42 million per season) and Manchester United (£100 million per season), and would like the company that they have partnered with since 1998 to ‘show them the money’.
