Adidas, Nike and Puma are some of the products that do everything at their disposal to take care of some of the best soccer players in the world.
Football boots are just one of the ways bands advertise their products with the most famous players in the world all associated with a particular sports brand. But who are the footballers who earn the biggest chunk of these deals?
- 10. Mohamed Salah Adidas (2.5 million pounds)
The Liverpool striker has been one of the best players in world football for the past three or four seasons. Salah, who has also endorsed Pepsi and Vodafone in his native Egypt, wears X18 soccer boots from the German manufacturer in a deal worth £2.5m a year.
- 9. Marco Verratti – Nike (2.5 million pounds)
Most Italians have always known the brand Puma but not Veratti. The PSG man whose deal with Puma expired in 2017, after wearing black boots, has since joined Nike and is now wearing the Hypervenom Phantom III.
- 8. Paul Pogba Adidas (£3 million)
The Frenchman is considered one of the biggest marketing tools in world football due to his potential and regular presence on social media. He signed a 10-year deal worth around £30m with Adidas that expires in 2024.
- 7. Antoine Griezmann Puma (£3.5 million)
Griezmann is one of the best players representing Puma in Europe. Even before moving to Barcelona years ago, he was already representing the brand and extended his £3.5m boot deal with the German brand in 2015.
Puma even honored him with a limited edition version of the shoe, called the Future 4.1 NETFIT Grizi and priced at £229, in 2019 to celebrate their 10th anniversary with them.
- 6. Gareth Bale – adidas (4 million pounds)
While his fortunes on the field of play waned, Adidas stuck with one. Under his reign, the Welsh striker used to be a marketing man’s dream, with EA Sports and Lucozade among the brands to be associated with him.
- 5 – Mario Balotelli Puma (5 million pounds)
The 31-year-old, who now plays for Adana Demirspor, was one of the most likely players in Europe after his breakthrough at Milan. When his Nike deal expired, Puma came along and awarded him a 10-year contract worth £5m, which still has two years to go.
- 4- Kylian Mbappe Nike (14 million pounds)
Dubbed the clear heir to the dominance of both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the 23-year-old who appears likely to leave Paris Saint-Germain for Real Madrid this summer has been with Nike for some time now.
Nike struggled hard to get his signature, securing a 10-year deal worth £140m in 2019 after rival Adidas.
- 3- Cristiano Ronaldo – Nike (£15 million)
Ronaldo is one of three athletes who have signed a lifetime agreement with Nike, along with basketball stars Michael Jordan and LeBron James.
The 37-year-old may be getting close to Swansong in his career, but his deal should turn him around when he finally retires, having netted him £780m.
- 2- Lionel Messi Adidas (£18 million)
Just like Ronaldo with Nike, Messi signed a lifelong contract with the German manufacturer. The 34-year-old owns his sub-brand of shoes under the direct title of Adidas Messi.
By calling for Nike for Puma to be dropped in 2020, Neymar secured the largest singles sponsorship contract in the sport’s history.
The deal is not only limited to his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Messi and Ronaldo, the United player, but also places him above all professional athletes. It is not known how long the Puma deal will last, but it is understood to be worth twice what Nike was paying him.
