By Paul Nicholson
February 28 – City Football Group (CFG) owners of Manchester City, have signed a kit sponsorship with Puma which will see the sportswear company supply five of CFG’s clubs in what Puma says is its biggest deal ever.
Described as a “global long-term partnership”, the deal beings in July 2019 and is for a fiove-year terms. Puma becomes the official partner of Manchester City FC, Melbourne City FC, Girona FC, Club Atlético Torque and Sichuan Jiuniu FC, supplying all teams including men’s, women’s and youth football.
“PUMA’s partnership with City Football Group is the largest deal that we have ever done – both in scope and ambition,” said Bjørn Gulden (pictured right), CEO of Puma. “We look forward to building the most innovative partnership in football by redefining the sports partnership model both on and off the pitch. We want to maximise on-field performance as well as football culture, in areas such as music, gaming and fashion to connect and inspire the fanbase of each team.”
The CFG deal with Puma is estimated at £65 million year – previously rumours had been that Puma were discussing a £50 million a year deal with Manchester City. The addition of of the other four CFG clubs and Manchester City’s success on the pitch have likely pushed that up. For Manchester City it is an estimated £20 million a year uplift on their previous deal with Nike.
Recent kit sponsorship deals have seen Real Madrid sign a reported 10-year, €110 milion a year deal with Adidas. Nike pay €140 million a year for Barcelona.
Lower down the pay scale, Manchester United still lead the English clubs with their £75 million-a-year deal with Adidas.
Arsenal are switching from Puma to Adidas for their kit deal from the 2019/20 season in a five-year agreement worth £300 million for the five years.
Chelsea’s deal with Nike which is pegged at £60 million a year but runs through to 2032 which will see Nike make a £900 million commitment to the club.
Ferran Soriano (pictured left), CEO of City Football Group, said: “This announcement marks the start of an exciting new chapter for City Football Group. Our relationship with PUMA, covering five City Football Group clubs across four continents, will reset the model for sports partnerships on a truly global scale whilst being locally relevant and authentic for fans around the world. PUMA share our vision for challenging expectations, and we are looking forward to what we believe will be a ground-breaking partnership.”
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