After 13 years of providing the great Manchester United's sports kit in all of the latter's games, Nike, the American sportswear giant, has decided to end the partnership.
In an statement released to several media, the company said that it will be carrying out its sponsorship of the club until the end of the 2014-2015 season but will not be renewing after that. According to Sky Sports, which obtained a copy of the statement, Nike said: "Manchester United is a great club with passionate fans. We are proud to have partnered with them for the last 12 years and will continue to sponsor until the end of the season. Any partnership with a club or federation has to be mutually beneficial and the terms that were on offer for a renewed contract did not represent good value for Nike's shareholders."
Man Utd currently receives around £23.5 million per year from Nike, writes The Guardian. But sources say that the twenty-time champions are trying to score as much as £70 million per season in its renewal conditions. Nike had exclusive rights to negotiate the contract until the end of July but had just let the period pass without making a move.
To date, the team with highest kit sponsorship deal is Real Madrid, with $41 million from Adidas. Liverpool follows with $39 million from Warrior, while Barcelona has the third highest, also from Nike, at $38 million.
According to Forbes, Nike's rejection could be a sign that kit deals and their providers are starting to become a lot more discretionary. After all, Manchester United, although with a very impressive history of wins, has been struggling in the past season. The team scored only seventh place in the latest Premier League after logging a number one win in the previous season. David Moyes, the coach who replaced Alex Ferguson, was fired at the end of the latest season and will be replaced after the World Cup by Louis van Gaal, from Netherlands. Man Utd is owned by the Glazer family who also has ownership rights to the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
"Clearly Nike's football business is booming and they could easily afford to do this. They had the right to match any other offer but looking at the deal on the table, they will walk away as it doesn't make commercial sense," an unnamed source told Reuters.
BBC says it is possible that Adidas or Warrior will make an offer to the team for a sponsorship.