Exclusive: Two Man City bidders blown out of the water as mega deal agreed
Manchester City have set the benchmark for their Premier League rivals after agreeing a behind-the-scenes deal that left two huge brands trailing in their wake.
Last season, Pep Guardiola’s side finished third in the league, 13 points adrift of runaway title winners Liverpool.
The Manchester side have spent big this summer in an attempt to regain their Premier League crown, signing the likes of Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders, and Rayan Ait-Nouri.
Off the pitch, City have extended their partnership with Puma for another 10 years, in a deal worth around £1billion.
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that a standard has now been set for other teams completing sponsorship deals.
‘Man City were in talks with Adidas and Nike‘
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness revealed that Man City received bids from Nike and Adidas, before eventually opting to extend their sponsorship contract with Puma.
The new deal will see the Citizens earning £100m per year, which is a major increase on the £65m per year fee they previously received.
Wyness added that the whole City group, which includes the likes of Girona and Melbourne City, is a very attractive prospect for brands like Puma.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “People turned their eyes at this because they said, well, Man City’s sales aren’t big enough to justify this sort of deal.
“However, you’ve got to look at it as the whole City group. They now have 12 clubs around the world, and clubs like Girona that have done very well and are pretty big in their own market. It does become an attractive deal for Puma at that sort of level.
“Adidas and Nike, as I understand it, were also bidding for that deal, so it makes sense for Puma if they want to go ahead and do this to pay the right price. I have no questions about the actual pricing on this and I think it’s more power to City that they found a whole formula in terms of the City Football Group.
“This is mainly where it’s finally coming home to roost in terms of success for them. I know they’ve obviously done a lot of things with players, but commercially it’s been difficult to tie it all together. If this was a major part of this deal, then great, good luck to them. I think all the other clubs should be saying great, thank you, you’ve now set a new benchmark.”
Man City defender attracting interest
Meanwhile, Man City defender Jahmai Simpson-Pusey is attracting interest from SPL and Championship clubs for a season-long loan, Football Insider understands.
Simpson-Pusey is a product of the City youth system and made his senior debut in an EFL Cup tie against Tottenham in October 2024.
The teenager has gone on to make six appearances for Guardiola’s side so far, including 95 minutes across two Premier League outings, while he also won the PL2 Player of the Season award for 2024/25.
Simpson-Pusey has three caps to his name for England’s U18 side, while he’s also been called up to numerous U20 squads, but is yet to make his debut at that level.
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