Not Kylian Mbappe, but Erling Haaland is the one chosen by Nike to become the new icon to replace Ronaldo. Recently, the American sportswear company has just reached an agreement on a “super contract” with the Norwegian striker of Man City.
15 months fιghting for Haaland
Haaland’s old contract with Nike expired in January 2022, but at that time, the two sides could not reach an agreement on a new contract. Haaland’s side once refused the first offer from the American clothing company.
But in October 2022, the Norwegian striker’s agent Rafaela Pimienta still confirmed that the 22-year-old player “will sign the biggest sponsorship deal in football history”.
Haaland was once a huge target of Adidas and Puma
During this 15-month “freedom” period, Haaland became the target of fierce competition from Adidas and Puma. At that time, Adidas was planning to make the Norwegian striker the future heir to Lionel Messi. And Puma wants this defender to become his next icon, next to Neymar.
Nike wants to make Haaland the next Ronaldo
However, in the end, the winner was not one of the two clothing brands from Germany. Instead, the last to smile is still Nike. The sports equipment giant announced on Twitter that it has reached an agreement on a new sponsorship deal with Haaland. And this will be a “super contract” in every way.
Surpassing Mbappe and inheriting Ronaldo
Although specific details have not been announced, but The Athletic newspaper reveɑled it will have a term of 15 years, and help the Man City striker pocket 23 million euros / season. This is a record long term, when contracts with other players are usually only for 4-6 years, or at most 8 years in special cases. More importantly, it also helps Haaland surpass Mbappe.
In 2019, the star of PSG and France signed a 10-year sponsorship contract with a total value of 157 million euros with Nike. But with this “super contract”, Haaland has officially usurped Mbappe’s throne. It is a special honor to know that in the customer list of the American sportswear company there are also a series of other big names such as Harry Kane, Kevin De Bruyne, Bruno Fernandes or Marcus Rashford.
Haaland overtakes Mbappe to become Nike’s No. 1 icon
Not only giving Haaland the most expensive sponsorship contract in the football world, Nike also embraces a great ambition with the Norwegian striker.
Specifically, they want to make him Ronaldo’s heir. The Portuguese superstar was once a Nike icon with the famous Mercurial shoe brand. And now, Nike is opening a new era with “Terminator” Haaland.
Both are goalscoring machines, even role models for strikers. Nike is hoping, Haaland will follow in the footsteps of the legendary Portuguese striker
Nike has to pay a lot of money to keep the “monster” Haaland
That ambition is reflected in their announcement: “Haaland’s dizzying rise in Europe, coupled with his record-breaking goal-scoring pace, have established him in the future of football.”
“Love” from childhood
Of course, whether Haaland can reach Ronaldo’s stature or not is still in the future tense. But the return of the Norwegian goalscoring machine to Nike is in the predictions of many people, even in the 15 months the two sides are temporarily apart. Because of the fɑct, Haaland has been attached to this brand since childhood.
As a 14-year-old boy at Bryne’s football academy in his home country of Norway, Haaland chose Nike. When starting to еxplode in the Molde shirt, this protective striker still favored the Dream Speed and Vapor 14 models of the American sports company.
And although there were times when he had “adultery” like when he wore Adidas X Speedportal shoes in the Community Shield 2022 match, in the end he still returned to Nike
Nike has to pay a lot of money to keep the “monster” Haaland
The price that Nike has to pay for this “love” is not cheap at all. But more than anyone, they understand that the figure of 23 million euros per season for Haaland is completely worth it. Because a monster like Haaland will be able to score a good goal, no matter what shoes he puts on.
The giant Nike manipulates football stars
Nike is a true giant in the sports equipment industry. This US-based multinational group has a revenue of $ 46bn in the fiscal year 2022, and is the sponsor of 4 continental football confederations, 36 national teams, hundreds of football clubs and thousands of player
In addition to Erling Haaland, Nike is also sponsoring a series of other football stars such as Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane, Kevin De Bruyne, Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro and Marcus Rashford.