Sponsored by Nike for less than a year, Al-Nassr will change equipment supplier to join Adidas from the 2024-2025 season. Cristiano Ronaldo will therefore once again wear three-stripe jerseys…
It’s a bit of a bolt from the blue in the world of sports marketing. Linked to Nike for less than eight months, Al-Nassr will soon no longer be sponsored by the famous brand with the comma. The Saudi club, which Cristiano Ronaldo joined in January 2023, effectively announced on Tuesday that the American firm’s major competitor, Adidas, would be its new equipment supplier from 2024-2025 and for the next three seasons.
“This collaboration is proof of our shared ambitions and commitment to making Al-Nassr a football powerhouse, not only in Saudi Arabia, but also on the international stage”, rejoices Guido Fienga, the president of the Riyadh-based team, in a press release. Dressed by Nike individually, the five-time Ballon d’Or will therefore have to wear three-stripe jerseys again.
Nike and Al-Nassr, the huge flop
It will not be the first time in his career that “CR7” will associate his crampons bearing the “Swoosh” with his club’s jerseys designed by Adidas. Real Madrid, Juventus Turin and Manchester United, for its return to Old Trafford (the Red Devils were with Nike during its first visit to the north of England, from 2003 to 2009), were all equipped by the German brand when he was there.
For Nike, this end of collaboration with Al-Nassr sounds like a terrible snub. But it must be said that from the start, this partnership has been a real fiasco, the American giant having never been able to capitalize on the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia. As proof, it is still impossible at present to buy a jersey of the current second in the Saudi Pro League on the brand’s online store…
