Why Adidas ended their Milan sponsorship after 20 years?

Starting for next season, Adidas will no longer be a sponsor of AC Milan ending in advance their sponsorship contract expected to last until 2023.

The news came as an unexpected surprise for many fans and football enthusiasts. The German sportswear manufacturer Adidas is ready to leave AC Milan, ending their sponsorship contract with the rossoneri that was due to expire in 2023.

A serious development that disrupts in part the commercial plans of the red and black club, convinced until just a few weeks ago that they could launch their own marketing and merchandising project in the East thanks also to the support of such an illustrious sports brand, that has accompanied AC Milan for the last 20 years. Calcio & Finanza reports today that the relationship between the parties will end in June, with motives that affect both the new management of the club and Adidas’s growth plans as far as the Italian market is concerned.

Behind the separation between the German brand and the Milanese club there is a planning problem that derives since the closing period with Chinese ownership. Adidas remains unconvinced of the new AC Milan management and seems to have briefed the executives in last few days about the matter. In addition, the German company wants to focus on increasing the partnership with Juventus, paying them 23 million euros per season. Too many, however, according to Adidas, the 19.7 million agreed in 2013 to be paid to AC Milan until 2023, so much that a termination clause was inserted in the contract, to be triggered from June 2018. The rossoneri are considering New Balance and Under Armour as potential new sponsors.

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