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Liverpool set to rival Man United with £450m kit deal as Billy Hogan speaks out

As well as being fierce rivals on the pitch, Man United and Liverpool are in a constant battle for supremacy in terms of their commercial income.

The two North West clubs are unquestionably the Premier League‘s biggest exports, with U🅰nited alone claim🌜ing to have 1billion followers worldwide.

Both Fenway Sports Group (FSG) and the Glazer family hꦡave spied the opportunity to capitalise on their respective club’s global ‘brands’ and t꧒ap into huge revenues overseas.

Photo credit should read DIRK WAEM/AFP via Getty Images
Photo credit should read DIRK WAEM/AFP via Getty Images

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is now pulling the strings at Man United as the club’s single largest individual shareholder, but the emphas💜is on lev♈eraging the badge for commercial income remains the same.

United’s annual commercial income has staඣgnated somewhat in recent yeas but, standing at more than £300m at the last count, was still among the very biggest in world football.

Under FSG meanwhile, Liverpool have reওached a new plane in terms of the revenue they generate from sponsorship, merchandise and events.

Commercial income has almost trebled in the last decade,💙 from £104m in 2013-14 ago to £272m in the 🍎last financial year.

Supporters of the two famous old clubs may tired of hearing about their ꧟various co𓄧mmercial triumphs, and understandably so. They are more concerned with the traditional metric of success: silverware.

But Liverpool’s ownership model and Unitedꦺ’s dalliance with the upper limit of Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) mean commercial income is central to what they𒅌 can spend and how they fare on🍬 the pitch.

Liverpool to draw level with United’s Adidas deal?

Liverpool’s kit is currently supplied by Nike, but that contract ex💦pires at the end of the seaso﷽n.

There will be no official announcement until at least next year, but Liverpool are set to sign with Adidas in what will reportedly be a five-year deal.

The Nike deal was worth £30m per season to Liverpool on base terms, with🐬 Liverpool accepting a lower upfront fee from the American company in favour of a greater commissi🌊on on units sold.

The new Adidas partnership looks to have been agreed with a more conventiona🧸l deal structure.

As part of an interview with Liverpo✱ol CEO Billy Hogan, magazine report that Liverpool’s take-home from the new deal could see them equal the £90m Adidas pay Man United per sea𓂃son.

Over a five year contract, that could see Live🐼🦹rpool trouser up to £450m from the Adidas partnership.

In what appears to be a nod to the new deal, Hogan said: “Our partnerships have to be succesful for us but also commercially viable for our partners.

“It is about building out that long-term strategy. We are very conscious about making the right decisions for the club moving forward and continuing to grow revenues.”

The truth about Man United and Liverpool’s Adidas deals

For Adidas, the real value 🌞of their commercial relationships with Man United and 🐲Liverpool lies in the brand association.

Relative to what the German sportswea🤪🥂r titans earn elsewhere (revenue in the last financial year was over £18bn), the income generated by Liverpool and United shirt is pretty modest.

Photo by CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP via Getty Images
Photo by CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP via Getty Images

But the brand exposure, ensu🐎ring that the three stripes remain in the public’s consciousness, makes the £90m per year they are set to hand the two clubs a valuable investment.

For the clubs themselves, they finer points of the Adidas deals are not known. But elite c🃏lubs will typically take a 7-15 per cent of profit on units so𒁏ld.