Nike’s £23.5 million deal with Manchester United has been put into the shade by Liverpool.
The Merseyside Reds have captured a £25 million deal with a Boston-based company called Warrior Sports. Warrior Sports is a subsidiary of New Balance.
adidas will consider this a huge blow as Liverpool’s shirts are the fourth-highest selling replica in the world. Around 900,000 shirts are sold annually – the figure is only beaten by United, Real Madrid and Barcelona.
John W. Henry, owner of the club, said that the club will only spend the money that it will generate. With no UEFA Champions League football to play, Liverpool will probably have to make-do with the current squad and the Europa League.
Warrior Sports will take-over from adidas ahead of the 2012/2013 season.
About Warrior Sports
Warrior have traditionally been associated with ice hockey and lacrosse in the United States. They were the ones who invented the titanium lacrosse sticks.
The company was set up by Dave Morrow and it was bought out by New Balance in 2004. The brand was then transformed from a niche-market player to a huge brand.
NB made it big enough that it signed a multi-year deal with baseball giants Red Sox.