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What's the story?
In an exclusive piece published by The Athletic, Liverpool FC journalist James Pearce has reported that New Balance, the current kit supplier for the Reds, are taking the club to London's High Court to fight for the rights to retain the contract. This news comes at the back of Liverpool reportedly agreeing a deal with Nike to become their exclusive kit supplier from next season - a deal which is now said to be on hold till this dispute gets cleared.
In case you didn't know
In February 2015, New Balance became the kit dealer for Liverpool Football Club in a deal which was the Reds' biggest one at that point. As of this season, it is reported by Liverpool Echo that the current kit deal is worth £45 million a year for the Anfield outfit. Since 2015 however, Liverpool have grown leaps and bounds, drastically improving both on and off the pitch since Jurgen Klopp took charge of the team.
As the current champions of Europe, Liverpool's fanbase and market value has grown considerably over the past few seasons, which is one of the reasons why the Reds were looking for a new kit deal.
A few days ago, it was reported that Liverpool had agreed a deal with sports giants Nike which was said to be upwards of £70 million a year.
This figure could make Liverpool's deal the most lucrative kit contract in Premier League history, overtaking Manchester United's current deal which sees them pocket £75 million from Adidas. Currently, Barcelona’s £100 million per season deal with Nike is the biggest in football followed by Real Madrid’s £98 million per season arrangement with Adidas.
The heart of the matter
Reports on Tuesday morning came out wherein New Balance claimed that they have triggered their right to match Nike’s offer, and should, therefore, be granted a contract extension with the club beyond the end of this season.
Liverpool, however, insist that this is not the case, and because of this, the parties involved will go to court to solve this dispute. It is believed New Balance have a 'matching clause' in their contract with the current Premier League leaders, and have made an effort to equal the figure on the table from Nike, which should trigger the said clause.
A Liverpool spokesman said:
“We can confirm that our kit supplier, New Balance, has commenced a legal dispute against the club. We will not be making any further comment during these legal proceedings.”
A New Balance statement, as reported to the Athletic, read:
“New Balance is proud to be the official kit sponsor of Liverpool Football Club. Since 2011, when we entered into a record-breaking sponsorship with the club, we have delivered two of the biggest selling home kits for Liverpool fans and we continue to match the ambition and achievements of the club as it grows from strength to strength.
“As a long-standing and committed sponsor, we are keen to continue our strong partnership with Liverpool Football Club and renew our agreement in 2020. In line with our current contract, we have matched the offer made by Nike.
“As part of the contract renewal process, LFC has called into question elements of the agreement and as such we are asking the courts for clarity on this case. Both we and the club are keen to resolve any contractual challenges as quickly as possible and have agreed to an expedited process in the courts."
“New Balance is eager and confident to maintain its sponsorship of Liverpool Football Club and we look forward to continuing our record of success as LFC’s playing kit provider.”
Liverpool responded by informing New Balance that their improved bid still fell short of the one being offered by Nike since they can’t offer the same kind of global distribution network that Nike possesses.
What's next?
It remains to be seen as to how this situation pans out. Reportedly, the powers that be at Anfield have chosen Nike as their main distributor going forward, as they believe that the industry giant can provide them with a greater presence in markets across the world.
However, any official statement is off the table till the court case gets settled, and at this point in time, it cannot be estimated how long the dispute will drag on for.
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