Reports from Spain are suggesting that PUMA are looking to hijack Nike’s long-standing partnership with FC Barcelona, with the German brand supposedly willing to make a ‘historic’ bid.
Rumours of discontent between Nike and Barcelona have been circulating for a while now, and as the old saying goes, there’s no smoke without fire, with talk of other brands being interested in providing the Catalan club with their kits. Well, those embers may well be stoked with reports from Spanish media outlet, SPORT, suggesting that PUMA is preparing to come in for the club with a 'historic' offer that’s 'much higher' than the $824 million it currently pays Manchester City. Could the sun be setting on the 26-year partnership between Nike and Barcelona?
Nike and Barcelona is one of the longest running kit deals in the game, with the pair having first come together in 1998. The current arrangement sees the Swoosh pay the La Liga outfit a minimum of $114.75 (€105 million) a season, which can reach as high as $169 million (€155 million) depending on incentives. But despite it being potentially one of teh most lucrative kit deals in the game, rumours have long been circulating that the Barca directors are not happy with the actual walk-away amount that the club get.
The news of PUMA’s arrival as potential candidates to hijack Nike’s deal – currently set to run until 2028 – follows on from previous reports late last year that New Balance were interested in picking up the Barca contract.
Is this likely to happen? Well, while there's every chance, it could just as easily be a negotiating tactic, and teh cost and red tape involved in breaking contract with Nike makes us dubious at best. Still, stranger things have happened.
Watch this space to see how this story develops...
