Haaland signs for Nike

Erling Haaland has signed a contract with Nike to be his boot manufacturers. The Norweigan striker previously did have a contract with them, since the time he was 14, but that contract expired in January 2022. Since then, he has been seen wearing all three of Nike, Adidas and Puma probably in order to check his suitability to the brands as well as their products. Finally he seems to have selected to go back to the US based company.

The most interesting thing about this is the hegemony that Nike can create through this. Over the last 20 years, Nike have had Cristiano Ronaldo and Adidas have had Lionel Messi which has maintained a balance in the market. Now that those two are at the end of their careers, Kylian Mbappe and Haaland have become the two most marketable footballers. With Nike already having Mbappe on their roster, this tilts the balance in their favour for the next 10 years.