Manchester United have secured a new shirt deal with adidas, where the Old Trafford club will net $1.2 billion over the next 10 years.
The £75million-a-year deal begins with the 2015/16 season when Manchester United will wear adidas shirts instead of Nike. The last time United wore adidas was 1992. The German manufacturer had a memorable history with Manchester United from 1980 to 1992, where United won 3 FA Cup trophies wearing the kits with the three stripes.
As part of the agreement, adidas will supply product to Manchester United and outfit all of the club’s teams. In addition, adidas will have the exclusive right to distribute dual-branded merchandising products worldwide.
Manchester United joins the roster of adidas football partners, including some of the world’s top clubs such as Real Madrid, FC Bayern Munich, Chelsea FC, AC Milan, Flamengo and – also starting with the 2015/2016 season – Juventus.
“We are excited to team up with Manchester United, one of the most successful and most loved football clubs globally. Our new partnership with Manchester United clearly underlines our leadership in football and will help us to further strengthen our position in key markets around the world,” said Herbert Hainer, adidas Group CEO. “At the same time, this collaboration marks a milestone for us when it comes to merchandising potential. We expect total sales to reach 1.5 billion GBP during the duration of our partnership.”
The £75million a year deal is the biggest in club soccer, which is more than double what Real Madrid has. Nike, who pulled out of negotiations with Manchester United to renew its deal, will finish the 2014/15 season with United.
The money from adidas will certainly give Manchester United a huge boost financially, to help them finance some big transfer buys, as well as being able (if they so choose) to pay off some of the United debt.
