Rumor Mongering: Nike Win Bidding War to be Liverpool’s Kit Provider

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According to a report, Liverpool’s tenure with New Balance as the kit sponsor has run its end with Nike coming out ahead.

There has been quite a lot of speculation over the last few weeks regarding a rather big move for Liverpool. No, it’s not a transfer, though it does involve transferring rights over from one entity to another and, along with it, a truckload of cash. We’re talking, of course, about the oft-rumored changeover from New Balance to Nike as the official sponsors and designers of Liverpool FC’s kit.

Last we left this story, Nike had launched a massive bid that would make Liverpool the most expensive brand in English Football. Of course, reports were soon sourced out that New Balance would exercise a clause in their contract to match Nike’s bid in an attempt to retain the sponsorship.

A new report, out today, says that Nike has upped their initial bid and have now come out as the winners in this little battle with New Balance. Meaning, come the 2020-2021 season, the Nike Swoosh will be adorning Liverpool kits.

Now, a few things here. First, there are no quotes or sources in this report and given that the report emanates from the Mirror should cause us all to pump the brakes before we go running to our neighborhood Nike outlets and demanding that they take our money (this is a special warning to a certain Portland-area resident who constantly brings this up!).

Secondly, there’s still the bit about whether or not the fanbase has met any kind of consensus on this being a good thing. Obviously the money is good, but the issues with Nike (template-style kits and, ya know, the reputation of being sweatshop centered) definitely abound.

That being said, New Balance has definitely taken more risks in providing interesting kits but have absolutely failed the fan base in terms of making enough kits to meet the demand. This is the third year running that certain kits have completely sold out inside of the first month of the season, which is certainly troubling.

Regardless, either way, it’s all going to work out well for Liverpool’s bottom-line, with the club looking to move past United with the most lucrative sponsorship deal in all of England. It only makes sense given that Liverpool are, in fact, currently the best team in Europe.

Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com