The next chapter in Manchester United’s history with kit supplier Adidas, the club’s biggest individual financial backer year on year, has begun.
United debuted their new home kit against Nottingham Forest on 9 May and the team, in their first match under the permanent management of Michael Carrick, will wear it again against Brighton on the final day.
The deal with Adidas, extended in 2023, is worth a reported £90m per season, though £10m of that total is only released if and when United qualify for the Champions League.
The partnership runs until 2035 and will be worth £800-900m over the course of the contract.
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Under the terms of the renewal three years ago, United accepted lower royalties per unit sold in exchange for a larger upfront fee. Indeed, most experts United in Focus speaks to believe that the money the club makes on each sale will be tiny, if not virtually non-existent.
That means United’s upside is limited but they have what those in the biz call downside protection.
In Adidas’ time at Old Trafford, things have been turbulent on the pitch, which has had a material impact on shirt sales. But the revamped contract struck in 2023 means that United have had the security to budget in advance and not worry about fallow years in terms of sales.
“From an investor’s point of view, you want to de-risk as much as you can, and United’s deal with Adidas achieves that because there are very few variables within it,” says football finance expert Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to United in Focus.
“For every unit sold at the megastore, United will still get commission because the club itself, not Adidas, runs the shop. That is in contrast to the likes of Chelsea, who license out the megastore. But that’s only a small percentage of the total units sold.
“United have had a difficult few seasons on the pitch in recent years, and the setup of the Adidas deal has, to an extent, insulated them against any major commercial revenue shocks as a result of that.”
Despite a pitiful season on the pitch in 2024-25, United earned club-record commercial income of £333m.
Of that figure, £188m came from sponsorship, while the remaining £135m came from retail, merchandising and licensing. The Adidas deal falls into the latter category.
The new home kit has been generally well received, and Adidas will launch three further shirts ahead of 2026-27.
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