Manchester City have ditched Nike to sign a lucrative new kit deal with Puma, the Premier League champions have announced.
The deal, which will come into effect from the 2019/20 season, will apply to all clubs within the City Football Group – except Major League Soccer side New York City and Japanese outfit Yokohama F Marinos – and is said to be worth around £650million over ten years.
It is one of the biggest commercial contracts in football history and is understood to be the second largest kit deal in Premier League history, behind only Manchester United’s adidas agreement.
Manchester City
New York City
Melbourne City
Yokohama F Marinos
Club Atletico Torque
Girona
Sichuan Jiuniu
As well as City, Puma will also be the official partner of sister clubs Melbourne City FC, Girona FC, Club Atlético Torque and Sichuan Jiuniu FC, supplying all representative teams including men’s, women’s and youth football.
New York City will not be part of the deal due to Major League Soccer’s exclusive contract with Adidas, which runs until 2024, while Yokohama F Marinos will also remain under the adidas banner.
“PUMA’s partnership with City Football Group is the largest deal that we have ever done – both in scope and ambition,” said Bjørn Gulden, CEO of PUMA, with City Football Group chief executive Ferran Soriano saying it marks the “start of an exciting new chapter.”
“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,” added Soriano.
City also became the first Premier League side to snap up a sleeve sponsor when they stuck Nexen Tire on players’ arms.
The deal with Puma comes a week after the City Football Group expanded its portfolio of clubs by buying China League Two club Sichuan Jiuniu.
China is seen as a market of vast potential for the group and Manchester City are set to tour the country as part of their next pre-season campaign.
Soriano said: “I think we’ll play four games. One in Japan and probably the others in China but we’ll announce that.”
The game in Japan, against Yokohama F Marinos, has already been confirmed for July 27.