Sports company PUMA and City Football Group have signed a global long-term partnership, which will see PUMA supply Melbourne City FC, as well as sister clubs in England, Spain, Uruguay and China.

Starting in July 2019, PUMA will be the official partner of Melbourne City FC, Manchester City FC, FC Girona, Club Atlético Torque and Sichuan Jiuniu FC, supplying all representative teams including men’s, women’s and youth football.

 

PUMA announced the deal with an inventive video announcement on Twitter.

The deal is worth five times as much as City's current deal with Nike.

“PUMA’s partnership with City Football Group is the largest deal that we have ever done - both in scope and ambition,” said Bjørn Gulden, CEO of PUMA.

“We are very excited to partner with City Football Group, whose success, ambition and drive for innovation has seen them setting new standards, on and off the field.

   PICS: PUMA TAKES OVER MELBOURNE   

"We look forward to building the most innovative partnership in football by redefining the sports partnership model both on and off the pitch. We want to maximise on-field performance as well as football culture, in areas such as music, gaming and fashion to connect and inspire the fanbase of each team.”

 said Melbourne City FC CEO, Scott Munn added: “Melbourne City FC is committed to bringing football to Melbourne communities and helping grow and develop the game in Australia.

"Our new partnership with PUMA enables us to further promote our sport and support our local community and grassroots initiatives across Melbourne, while making sure the team looks great on the pitch!”.

PUMA and Melbourne City FC are already linked via several player partnerships, including Bart Schenkeveld, Harrison Delbridge and Lachlan Wales.

“This announcement marks the start of an exciting new chapter for City Football Group,” said Ferran Soriano, CEO of City Football Group.

“Our relationship with PUMA, covering five City Football Group clubs across four continents, will reset the model for sports partnerships on a truly global scale whilst being locally relevant and authentic for fans around the world. PUMA share our vision for challenging expectations, and we are looking forward to what we believe will be a ground-breaking partnership.”

This PUMA and City Football Group partnership is shaped by shared values of authenticity and innovation, and a genuine love for beautiful football.

These values will drive the partnership to change the game beyond the pitch, pioneering new ways to push forward the clubs’ communities, teams, and football whilst also bringing fans together at both local and global levels.

PUMA and Manchester City are already linked via several player partnerships, including Caroline Weir, Pauline Bremer and Nikita Parris in the Women’s Team in addition to men’s club captain Vincent Kompany, midfielder David Silva and striker Sergio Agüero, who famously scored in the last seconds of City’s final game of the 2011/2012 season to clinch the first of three league titles for the club in the modern era.

Japanese club Yokohama F.Marinos and New York City are not part of the deal as Yokohama already have a deal in place and the MLS negotiates deals on behalf of all clubs.