Manchester United have announced a record-breaking new 10-year contract extension with Adidas worth £90m every season.
A statement on the club’s website announced the new landmark deal with the renowned sports brand set to span over 10 years till 2035.
While highlighting their delight to sign a new pact with Adidas until 2035, the club confirmed a shift in paradigm to channel more proceeds of the deal to advance the cause of women football by investing more in Manchester United women team.
However, proceeds of the contract will be focused more on the general on-field performance and off-field logistics of the club with the interest of the fans at heart.
Reacting to the new contract extension, Manchester United chairman traced the history of the partnership between Manchester United and Adidas back to decades in the 1980s and maintained the relationship has been sustained due to the common values shared by the two parties in terms of their productivity and style.
“The relationship between Manchester United and adidas is one of the most iconic in world sport, forged through a shared commitment to style, flair and, most importantly, high performance,” he said.
As put forward by Arnold, United and Adidas entered into kit sponsorship contract for the first time in 1980 till 1992 and signed another partnership in 2015/16 with an estimated value of £75m per season.
A major talking point in Manchester United’s new deal with Adidas is the value. The new deal will last for a period of 10 years and is valued at £900m – the biggest sponsorship deal ever.
This implies Manchester United will rake in £90m every season, £10m more than Liverpool whose kit sponsorship deal is valued at £80m per season followed by Arsenal (£75m), Manchester City (£65m), Chelsea (£60m), and Tottenham (£40m).
However, there are exceptions to the £900m deal. Manchester United owners, the Glazers family have revealed the offer is subject to “certain adjustments” which could see the value drop slightly.
Further details of the “certain adjustments” clause as revealed by Manchester United financial records shows the club must qualify for Champions League every season to be guaranteed of the £900m maximum offer.
This implies there may likely be a slight change to the £90m seasonal benchmark if the club fails to qualify for Champions League.
The slight variations in the value is expected to be insignificant if the club fail to qualify for Champions League for one season but there will be a 30% drop if they fail to qualify for two consecutive seasons.
Other sundry seasonal changes such as big matchday revenues could also see the club earn more than the £90m benchmark per season, especially big Champions League matches.
With United on the rise under Erik Ten Hag, it is believed the Red Devils will rake in the slated £90m but have to stay consistent in making presence in Champions League each season.
The new deal will also leave the club with more funds to buy more players and further strengthen the squad.
