A controversial clause in Manchester United’s deal with sports kit giants Adidas has emerged, MySportDab reports.
Manchester United, who have been in a ten-year contract with Adidas, renewed terms of engagement with the brand recently.
The terms and conditions of the agreement between the two parties in the contract are set to come into full force in 2025 when the contract starts running.
With United set to open a new chapter in their sponsorship and partnership history with brands, a controversial clause, signed as part of the agreement with Adidas, has emerged.
As reported by The Times, Manchester United will pay Adidas £10m each year they fail to qualify for the Champions League as part of the new agreement with the brand.
While the Champions League clause in the new contract has been met with mixed reactions among Man United fans, it is pertinent to note United also agreed to pay a fine to Adidas in their last contract if they don’t qualify for the Champions League.
However, the variation between the two clauses is in the timeline and the amount to be forked out by the club.
In the soon-to-expire ten-year contract, United agreed to pay Adidas £22m if they failed to qualify for the Champions League in two consecutive seasons.
Fortunately, the Old Trafford club have aced out the last ten years not failing to qualify for the elite club competition two times in a row.
With the new deal, the club has a limited latitude to miss out on the competition. Instead of a two-year run, they will be made to pay £10m each year for missing out on the competition.
As reported by The Mail, Adidas have also pledged a bonus payment of £4.4m if the club’s men and women win the Premier League and Women’s Super League titles, respectively.
The ten-year contract was worth £760m while the new contract is said to worth in excess of £1bn.
