Manchester United could pull off a stunning world-record kit deal worth as much as £70 million a year, as sponsorship war develops between sportswear companies.

The Red Devil’s current contract with Nike expires next year and the Champions are locked in a battle with three leading shirt sponsors for the most lucrative and mouth-watering sponsorship contracts in sport.

According to reports from The Times, three major sportswear companies – Adidas, Warrior and Puma are holding talks with United to dislodge Nike, whose six-month exclusive renegotiation window expired at the end of July last year.

Arsenal recently created history by bagging a £30m-per-year contract with Puma, but should United pull off this deal, it will easily be the biggest deal in football history.

At this moment, Nike remains favourite to renew its contract but there are believed to have been disagreements over the structure of a new deal.

Adidas, the company which at present sponsors Real Madrid, Chelsea and Bayern Munich, are thought to be the most realistic challengers to Nike, as it is understood they have pitched to Richard Arnold, the United commercial director on Monday.