Barcelona To End Ties With Nike; Set To Introduce In-House Kit Manufacturing Brand, Says Report

Spanish football powerhouse FC Barcelona are reportedly on the verge of severing their ties with American kit sponsors Nike. The Catalan club are planning to manufacture their kits via an in-house brand, according to a report by SPORT. It’s an unprecedented decision, if true, by Barca president Joan Laporta, considering that the club have been affiliated with Nike since 1998.

In these 25-plus years, both parties have repeatedly renewed their deal and continued their partnership, considered one of the most profitable alliances in football.

Due to their long-standing dissatisfaction with Nike, Barcelona have begun to hunt for alternatives to the US-based company. Puma has demonstrated a strong desire to replace Nike, making Barca an offer of slightly more than 100 million euros fixed every season — a sum that is greater than the approximately 85 million euros fixed they currently earn from Nike annually.

Additionally, Hummel was also linked to the club. However, a third option exists. Club president Joan Laporta declared a few weeks ago that he wanted to build his brand in an interview on Catalan radio station RAC1.

And it appears that Barcelona’s plan to launch its brand for the upcoming season is gaining traction, despite previous discussions with Nike lacking a positive feel. Indeed, the club believes that creating its brand will not only help them move away from Nike but also create stronger brand awareness of the club itself.

The Catalan giants have already gotten in touch with big companies around the world to help them with in-house manufacturing. The club will assume all the production, distribution, design, and manufacturing costs. However, the huge upside to the club opting for in-house solutions is that they will acquire 100% of all profits and revenue that the shirt sales will generate. It’s a move that is certainly bound to disrupt the traditional Barca way of functioning, but it has immense promise to change the financial landscape of the club.

The report from SPORT states that March is set to be the decisive month as far as the outcome of this situation is concerned. If Nike agrees to meet Barcelona’s demands, the partnership will continue until 2028, when the current contract between the two expires.

Avoiding a potential legal war is one of the reasons Joan Laporta wants to introduce an in-house brand instead of joining hands with another kit manufacturer like Nike, New Balance, or Hummel. He is convinced that the brand will be wildly successful and will overturn the club’s deteriorating fiscal situation.