Manchester City have agreed an astonishing new £65m-a-year contract with sports manufacturers PUMA, ditching Nike after six seasons of affiliation with the American sportswear brand.
The new deal, which will come into effect at the beginning of next season, will dwarf the Cityzens current agreement with Nike, who currently make them a net profit of around £20 million a year.
The 10-year deal will see Manchester City sponsored by PUMA, alongside four of their sister sides who fall under the CFG (City Football Group) umbrella - Girona (Spain), Melbourne City (Australia), Atletico Torque (Uruguay) and the recently acquired Sichuan Jiunu (China).
This colossal new partnership will become the second largest in Premier League history, behind Manchester United's whopping £75m-a-season deal with Adidas that started in 2015 after the Red Devils left Nike, their manufacturers of 13 years.
Bjørn Gulden, the CEO of PUMA, said in a statement:
"PUMA’s partnership with City Football Group is the largest deal that we have ever done - both in scope and ambition.
"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 fanbase of each team."
City Football Group's CEO, Ferran Soriano, added:
"This announcement marks the start of an exciting new chapter for 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."
City are not the only side to make the switch from Nike to PUMA in recent seasons, with Arsenal also moving to the German manufacturers in 2014.
However, after a five-year partnership the Gunners will be trading them in for Adidas next season, after the global sportswear brand agreed a £300 million deal with the North Londoners which will start this July and run for five years.
The loss of Manchester City will mean that Nike now only manufacture kits for three current Premier League sides - Chelsea, Tottenham and Brighton.
Rivals Adidas on the other hand, boast six current top-flight sides, with Manchester United, Watford, Leicester, Wolves, Cardiff and Fulham all donning their kits this term.
