The relationship between Barcelona and Nike is about to break and the reason is very simple: money. For financial reasons, the German national team and Adidas, whose cooperation lasted more than 70 years, have already parted ways. And now there is the risk that the Catalan club will say “goodbye” to the American brand after 25 years of collaboration.
More information about the case of the German team:
“Germany and Adidas are like Germany and beer.” The tandem came to an end because of Nike
Joan Laporta has been trying to get Barça out of the financial crisis for several years. In 2022 he gained economic leverage by selling the club’s assets to get a financial injection here and now, which was something revolutionary for Spanish football. And, in the long term, it could prove disastrous for the club itself, because all of Laporta’s actions were aimed at improving the situation at the moment, but not in the long term.
It will be good to be wrong, but for now Barcelona continues to teeter between the abyss and a new leap towards a bright future. It will no longer be possible to use the levers (a year ago, La Liga director Javier Tebas closed all the loopholes), so other options will have to be looked for to fill the Club’s empty accounts.
For example, you will have to organize a player sale:
Barça saw its salary cap severely cut. Who will the club be forced to put up for sale?
Laporta set his sights on Nike: the club president wanted to extend the existing agreement on better conditions. According to the contract, signed in 2018 for a period of 10 years, the American brand pays the club a fixed amount of 105 million euros plus 50 million euros in bonuses per year. According to Spanish media, Barcelona, in addition to economic aspects, is also not satisfied with the quality of some processes, design and cooperation with players. Furthermore, in recent years there have been supply problems and, in 2020, quality problems. They wrote that Nike has its own discontent: it is not easy to interact with the club, because the resolution of some problems is often delayed, and in general, Barça often does not meet deadlines.
Several options are currently being considered:
negotiate with Nike for new terms or exit the agreement early; sign a new agreement with another brand (Laporta says he wants to double the current amount); Create your own brand and produce uniforms yourself.
Puma is currently showing interest in collaborating with Barça, but it is unclear if the German brand will be willing to give the club double what the Catalans currently receive from Nike. The reason why the American consortium is not willing to increase its offer is that Barcelona does not show impressive results that would convince the company to give more money to the club. Puma wants to work with the Catalan club, but it is unlikely that the company has the financial capacity to satisfy the aforementioned appetites.
Spanish media write that the brand is willing to give 20 to 30 million euros more than Nike currently pays, but is not willing to cover the cost of compensation by terminating the contract with the American brand. Sources from The Athletic report that Laporta is inclined to independently produce the kit, which will go into the hands of the Club’s division, BLM. It already sells some clothing and in the 2022/2023 season it generated income of 100 million euros (the fourth figure in Barça’s budget). The Club believes that having its own brand will generate much more income, despite the production costs.
Juan Laporta
president of barcelona
“We are open to anything, but we cannot have a contract that is much lower than what the market pays. It is our responsibility to get the best. The easiest thing would be to continue working with Nike with a below-market contract, but sometimes the easy way out is not the best option.”
Creating your own brand is an exceptional story for European football. In the 2000s, Borussia, after breaking ties with Nike, created the Goool.de brand, which was 100% owned by the club. The idea was simple: generate income off the field to become independent from the sporting success of the main team. In the 2001/2002 season, the company made a profit of 110.6 thousand euros, but, despite the first successful steps, in 2004 Borussia returned to Nike. Goool.de also produced sportswear for some time, but ceased to exist in 2008.
Borussia uniform, season 2001/2002
Photo: Sandra Behne/Getty Images
Southampton produced their own S-branded kit between 1999 and 2008, before signing a contract with Umbro until 2013.
Southampton kit
Photo: Christopher Lee/Getty Images
After that, the British signed a contract with Adidas, but the parties did not work together for long: the agreement was terminated a few months later. Fans did not like that the brand removed the legendary stripes from the uniform, and already in winter the parties parted ways. In the 2014/2015 season, Southampton released unbranded kits, as the club decided to produce the equipment themselves. It is curious that in the winter of 2015 the parties made peace and resumed relations for the season (this time Adidas made the uniform with those same stripes).
Southampton kit for the 2014/2015 season.
Photo: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images
Another case is the Roma uniform in the 2013/2014 season. The Club had a dispute with the Kappa company, which previously supplied the uniforms: the Roman management terminated the contract due to significant defects found in the equipment. Roma signed with Nike in 2013, but the contract did not come into effect until the 2014/2015 season. Since it was necessary to play with something, the club made the uniform on its own.
Roma uniform for the 2013/2014 season.
Photo: Paolo Bruno/Getty Images
In the 2009/2010 season, Betis found itself in the Second Division without a sponsor, so the Club produced its own kit under the RBB brand.
Betis kit in the 2009/2010 season
Photo: Getty Images
These are who might need a uniform with their own branding in the future:
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