Manchester City signs money-spinning kit deal with Nike

By David Gold

May 7 – Manchester City has agreed a lucrative kit sponsorship deal with Nike that could double the previous £6 million ($10 million/€7 million) the club received from Umbro.

Nike Inc, the parent company of Umbro, is taking over as the English Premier League leader’s kit sponsor for six years, despite the previous 10-year deal having only been agreed in 2009.

It is a crucial step in City’s attempts to meet UEFA’s new Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules that would allow them to record losses of £40 million ($64.7 million/€50 million) over this season and next before eventually requiring the club to break even.

City (pictured below, in blue) – which, under manager Roberto Mancini, could win its first league title since 1968 this weekend – posted losses of £197 million ($318.5 million/€244 million) for 2010-2011.

Since then the club has agreed a money-spinning shirt sponsorship and stadium naming rights deal worth £400 million ($647 million/€496 million) with Etihad Airways.

However, the deal has been questioned by some of the club’s rivals as the chairman of Etihad, Sheikh Hamid bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is the half-brother of City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Combined with playing in the Champions League for the first time this season, these deals will go some way to helping City comply with the FFP rules.

“We’re excited by the opportunity to further develop the relationship between City and Nike, which reflects both the ambitions of the club and the Nike brand’s position within the world of football,” said Charlie Denson, Nike brand President.

John MacBeath, City’s Interim chief executive, said: “We are delighted to have further strengthened our relationship with the Nike family.

“Nike’s deserved reputation as the leading global sports brand means that this is a very important step forward in the evolution of Manchester City.”

The new kit deal with Nike, though relatively significant, is still dwarfed by that of Liverpool which earns £25 million ($40.4 million/€31 million) a year from Warrior Sports, the biggest such agreement in the Premier League.

Nike also has deals in place with European football big-hitters Barcelona, Manchester United and Arsenal among others.

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