Manchester United said it had signed a new 10-year deal with German sportswear giant Adidas on Monday, worth a minimum £900 million ($1.15 billion) according to the BBC.
The two have been partners since the 2015/16 season, reuniting after a 23-year hiatus, and both parties said the new deal would focus substantially “on the Manchester United women’s team”.
“The new deal increases the focus on the Manchester United women’s team since their reintroduction in 2018 -– continuing Manchester United and adidas’s commitment to drive the women’s game forward,” read a statement on United’s website.
Bjorn Gulden, CEO of Adidas, said the two were a natural fit given their respective status in the sport.
“Adidas and Manchester United are two of the most important brands in international football and it is very natural for us to continue our cooperation,” he said in a statement.
“We will combine tradition and innovation to please both the players and the fans.”
United gave no figure for the new deal but the BBC said it was worth at least £900 million.
The BBC also reported that failure to qualify for the Champions League for two consecutive seasons would reduce the annual payments by 30%. United will play in the Champions League in the coming season.
The announcement comes a week after Adidas announced its second-quarter operating profit plunged but that thanks to selling part of its huge inventory of Kanye West’s Yeezy products it now expects a lower annual loss.
Adidas now expects to end the year with an operating loss of 450 million euros ($496 million), compared to its earlier forecast of a 700-million-euro loss.
