City Football Group, the owners of the Manchester City football club, have confirmed a global long-term partnership with German sports brand Puma. The deal will see Puma supply kit and footwear to the reigning English Premier League champions Manchester City, as well as sister clubs in Australia, Spain, Uruguay and China.
The deal, that will come into effect from July, will give Puma the official partner status for Manchester City FC, Melbourne City FC, Girona FC, Club Atlético Torque and Sichuan Jiuniu FC, supplying all representative teams including men’s, women’s and youth football.
“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.
“We are very excited to partner with City Football Group, whose success, ambition and drive for innovation has seen them setting new standards, on and off the field. We look forward to building the most innovative partnership in football by redefining the sports partnership model both on and off the pitch. We want to maximise on-field performance as well as football culture, in areas such as music, gaming and fashion to connect and inspire the fan base of each team.”
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“This announcement marks the start of an exciting new chapter for City Football Group,” said Ferran Soriano, CEO of City Football Group. “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. Puma share our vision for challenging expectations, and we are looking forward to what we believe will be a ground-breaking partnership.”
This Puma and City Football Group partnership is shaped by shared values of authenticity and innovation, and a genuine love for beautiful football. These values will drive the partnership to change the game beyond the pitch, pioneering new ways to push forward the clubs’ communities, teams, and football whilst also bringing fans together at both local and global levels.
Puma and Manchester City are already linked via several player partnerships, including Caroline Weir, Pauline Bremer and Nikita Parris in the Women’s Team in addition to men’s club captain Vincent Kompany, midfielder David Silva and striker Sergio Agüero, who famously scored in the last seconds of City’s final game of the 2011/2012 season to clinch the first of three league titles for the club in the modern era.
British media has reported the deal values at £ 650 million ($863.8 million) over the ten years. This will be the second most valuable kit contract in the Premier League behind only City’s local rivals Manchester United, who have a £750 million ($996.8 million) tie-up with Puma’s German rivals adidas.
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