Having retired from the field for almost twenty years, Zinedine Zidane is still one of the most popular figures in French football. So much so that during the recent survey carried out by the
Sunday Newspaperit appeared as the 17e favorite personality of the French and ahead of Kylian Mbappé, Antoine Griezmann or Didier Deschamps.
The brands made no mistake and Zinedine Zidane has retained several leading partners, including Adidas, with whom he has worked for almost 30 years. But expected to take over from Didier Deschamps on the bench of the French team, the Marseillais risks showing some disloyalty to the brand with the three stripes.
“There is nothing insurmountable”
Nike has in fact been the equipment supplier for the Blues since 2011 and recently extended its contract with the FFF until 2034 in return for an annual check for 100 million euros. If necessary, Zinedine Zidane will have to comply and wear Nike outfits when he is with the Blues. A prospect that does not worry market experts.
“ In my opinion, there is nothing insurmountable. Things are even relatively comfortable in the sense that the Federation has eighteen months to define the perimeters of each of the two brands,” said Virgile Caillet, sports marketing specialist, to Le Parisien. And the story is the same in the mouth of Vincent Chaudel, co-founder of the Sports Business Observatory.
“ As a coach, he would necessarily be required to wear official uniforms. But if he is invited on a show where he is followed in his daily life for example, it would be a little different. We can imagine greater tolerance,” he explained.
