Kylian Mbappé’s break with Nike ends a relationship that began when he was nine, and it sends one of French football’s biggest commercial stories into a new phase. The France captain has joined On after almost two decades with the American sportswear giant.
The Ligue 1 news
Mbappé, now at Real Madrid after leaving Paris Saint-Germain, had been a Nike athlete since childhood. Olivier Gagne, currently deputy director of professional football at PSG, was the man who first sent him Nike equipment.
Nike confirmed the end of the partnership by praising the shared history with the forward, saying Mbappé had played an important part in its football family and wishing him well as his career enters another chapter.
The move comes just as Nike begins a new eight-year agreement to supply the French Football Federation. The deal is worth just under €100m per year, making Mbappé’s departure a notable image issue for the company even though he remains captain of Les Bleus.
France coach Zinédine Zidane is associated with Adidas, underlining the mixed commercial landscape around the national team. Individual players can wear boots from brands other than the federation’s kit supplier, as is standard when such sponsorship arrangements are negotiated.
For Nike, the loss means it can no longer build a campaign around Mbappé alone. It may still use him as part of France’s collective image-rights agreement, alongside four other players. Nike shirts bearing his name will also continue to be sold.
The situation has been discussed extensively with the FFF since Nike learned that Mbappé would not renew. The federation will now take charge of and centralise France squad imagery during international camps. That could leave Nike prominent in photographs and footage involving Mbappé, despite his personal switch to On.
Nike had offered the 27-year-old a new contract of around 10 years, worth more than €20m annually. Had he accepted, the agreement would have placed him alongside NBA star LeBron James among the best-paid athlete endorsement deals in the world.
Mbappé continued to wear Nike boots until his previous deal expired in mid-August. Nike, while acknowledging it would have preferred to keep the Real Madrid striker, can point to precedents: Lionel Messi represented Adidas while playing for Nike-equipped Barcelona and PSG, while Cristiano Ronaldo remained a Nike athlete at Adidas-supplied Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.
The Oregon-based company now has room in its budget to target younger talent. Mbappé will turn 28 in December, while Nike retains major names across American sports.
Sunday’s Madrid derby
Attention will turn to Mbappé’s footwear when Real Madrid face Atlético de Madrid on Sunday at 16:15. The question is whether he will make his first visible On appearance in prototype boots, or wear a disguised pair.
