Manchester United’s new kit deal leaves their closest contenders trailing in their wake.
Manchester United have broken all existing record relating to kit deals today, after they announced a £750m deal, over the next ten years, with German sportswear giants Adidas.
The £75m a year deal comes despite United’s frustrating 2013/14 season, that saw the club miss out on European football for the first time in a generation, showing that the club remain a huge brand despite the on-field struggles.
The agreement dwarfs any previous football kit deal, with United earning more than twice as much as the previous highest arrangement was worth. We have had a look at the six biggest in the world currently, with United unsurprisingly taking top spot.
Manchester United and Adidas
Manchester United’s £75m a year deal with Adidas has become by far the biggest deal to be signed in football history, with the Red Devils now enjoying a significant advantage in terms of the income generated by sportswear when compared to their rivals.
The deal dwarfs the £23.5m a year that United were previously earning from Nike under the terms of the previous link-up, and the huge sum is only £40m less than the Glazer family paid to acquire the club in 2005.
The two parties have agreed to a ten-year contract, meaning that United will eventually have earned £750m from the deal by the time it expires in 2024.
Real Madrid and Adidas
La Liga giants Real Madrid also have a deal with Adidas, who pay Europe’s most decorated club £31m a year for the honour of making their famous jerseys.
Adidas recently renewed their contract with the current European champions, taking the agreement between the two parties through until 2020.
Real Madrid’s famous white shirts have now been made by Adidas for more than 15 years, with the two becoming synonymous with each other over such a long period.
Arsenal and Puma
Arsenal are another Premier League club to have signed a huge new kit deal this summer – with Puma now paying the Gunners £30m a year to produce their famous red shirts.
The first new Puma shirts have been released at the Emirates Stadium, to a generally positive reaction, with the two parties having an agreement for Puma to make the kits for the next five years – a deal that will eventually pay £150m to Arsenal.
It is one of the latest steps on the club’s aim of becoming one of the world’s most profitable football clubs, after the successful transition to life at the Emirates Stadium.
Chelsea and Adidas
Chelsea signed what was then a record kit deal for a British club in 2012, when they agreed a ten-year deal with Adidas that would pay the blues an overall fee of £300m.
The £30m a year deal overtook all other Premier League clubs at the time, but the Blues have now been caught up by both London rivals Arsenal and now United in the sportswear stakes.
The figure is still an impressive amount for the club, however, as they look to increase their presence across the globe.
Barcelona and Nike
La Liga giants earn Barcelona earn approximately £27m a year from their kit deal with Nike, which is a long-term arrangement that was last extended in 2007.
Barcelona shirts are some of the most iconic in football, with their red and blue stripes shirts seen on peoples’ backs across the globe, explaining why the Catalan club have one of the globe’s biggest sportswear contracts.
Liverpool and Warrior
Premier League side Liverpool signed a £25m a year deal with American sportswear company Warrior in 2012, which took the Reds to a position of having one of the most lucrative footballing kit contracts in the sport.
New deals signed at other clubs in the period since have demoted the Anfield based club’s deal to the fourth most lucrative in the Premier League and sixth in world football, however, although this is still an impressive placing for the club.