Arsenal are set to sign the biggest kit deal in English football with Puma as they bring to an end their 20-year association with Nike at the end of next season. A number of improved commercial deals for Arsenal are in the offing.
The five-year deal with the German sportswear manufacturer is reported to be worth as much as £170m – more than £30m a year That’s even more than sponsors Emirates pay to have their logo on the Arsenal shirts, and will give Arsene Wenger, or his successor, extra financial clout in the transfer market.
Arsenal are set to sign the biggest kit deal in English football with Puma as they bring to an end their 20-year association with Nike at the end of next season. A number of improved commercial deals for Arsenal are in the offing.
The five-year deal with the German sportswear manufacturer is reported to be worth as much as £170m – more than £30m a year That’s even more than sponsors Emirates pay to have their logo on the Arsenal shirts, and will give Arsene Wenger, or his successor, extra financial clout in the transfer market.
The agreement is yet to be finalised but it would see Arsenal wearing Puma from the start of the 2014/15 season. The deal dwarfs Arsenal’s current Nike arrangement, which was worth just £55m over seven years.
It is larger than Liverpool’s contract with Warrior Sports, signed last year and worth £25m a season, while Manchester United are coming to the end of a 15-year deal with Nike worth £287m. It is expected that United will sign a big deal as their commercial clout remains despite the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Puma has strong links with the African market, an area where they believe Arsenal are particularly strong and have even bigger potential. This is undoubtedly the case as some African countries outside sub-Saharan Africa are recording strong increases in GDP and the number of people on middle incomes is growing. For all the understandable interest in the Asian market, the African market could be the next big thing.