Super big contract! Puma spent 1 billion pounds to lock Manchester City! Sky Blue jersey became the new money printing machine in the Premier League

The ceiling of Premier League jersey sponsors was smashed by the joint cooperation between Manchester City and Puma! Just today (July 15), an official announcement shocked the football world: the two sides renewed their contract for ten years, with a total price of up to 1 billion pounds (about 1.15 billion euros)! In summary, Puma pays 100 million pounds to sponsor Manchester City every year, leaving behind the sponsorship contracts of giants such as Manchester United and Liverpool, setting a new record in the history of the Premier League.

Think about the annual sponsorship fee when the two companies first joined hands in 2019 was only 65 million pounds. It soared by 54% in just 6 years! Is this money worth spending? Puma is not a sucker. Let’s take a look at Manchester City’s 6-year report card: 4 Premier League trophys, plus the unprecedented "triple crown" (2023 Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League). With the support of the championship halo, Manchester City jerseys sold so much, with sales records breaking year by year. The fan base has been rising rapidly, especially in the Asian and Chinese markets, where the final version of the jerseys on e-commerce platforms are often gone in seconds.

But Puma's interest is far more than the championship trophy. They and Manchester City played this jersey for a while:

The first point will be commercially attractive: The first release of the Metaverse (selling virtual jerseys in Roblox games), allowing fans to use AI to participate in the design, and replicating classic models to pay tribute to legendary stars... These novel ways of playing accurately hit the hearts of young fans, and the jerseys have become "hard currency" on social networks.

The second point is to open stores around the world and expand the business: STICHD, a retail expert under Puma, helped Manchester City open stores from Manchester to Abu Dhabi and New York, and spread them around the world. Fans can buy it anywhere, so the business will naturally grow bigger and bigger.

Point 3 Environmental protection can also become a selling point: since last year, Manchester City's replica jerseys have used 95% of recycled materials (such as RE:FIBRE technology for remodeling of plastic bottles and old clothes). This "green" label just caters to the current consumption concept of young people who focus on environmental protection.

Why does Puma dare to spend 100 million yuan every year? Confidence comes from real money: the newly released new sky blue + white striped home jersey for 2025, with the star seal, is 101 pounds (about 950 yuan), and is still sold out. The huge global Manchester City fan base (especially Asia's rapid growth) is the guarantee of purchasing power. What's even better is that through Manchester City's parent company "City Football Group", Puma can also sponsor several clubs including Girona (La Liga), Melbourne City (AUP), which is equivalent to spending a lot of money to buy an "advertising family bucket". The exposure is full, and the cost is diluted.

How to play in the next ten years? Puma and Manchester City have long been thinking of better ideas: let fans customize unique exclusive jerseys with AI, wear virtual jerseys in the metaverse and games to social interaction, and promote environmentally friendly materials to all peripheral products... Puma CEO Arthur Holder said it bluntly: "The trophy is the stage, but we need crazier experiments. ”

To put it bluntly, the 1 billion pounds bought is not just an advertising space on the chest. This is a expensive boat ticket for Puma to bet on the future, and the destination is a new world for fans to consume - there are metaverses, AI customization and green trends. Manchester City's sky blue jersey is becoming a link between the court and the future business.