Manchester United's new Adidas kit will finally go on sale this weekend, despite being leaked earlier this month and spotted on the rails at a US sports shop a week ago. Sports stores will open at midnight in Manchester, and London, to allow fans to get their hands on the new tops.
The deal with Adidas is worth a staggering £750m over ten years, but despite the magnitude of the deal the kit launch will be low key, with the first team donning the tops for the first time against Spurs on the opening day of the season.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Manager Louis van Gaal also rejeted requests for a high-profile friendly at Old Trafford next week so he could concentrate on preparing his squad for the Premier League season.
The lack of fanfare has also been compounded by the fact that fans already know what the tops will look like. When the designs leaked, images were posted on social media site Reddit and quickly went viral, reports the Manchester Evening News, even though Adidas has not officially revealed the designs.
GoodGuyManu / Reddit
"Reminiscent of the home strip worn by the team during the 1980s, the shirt features a classic V-neck collar and white bands on the sleeves," says the Daily Mail.
And whether the fans like it or not, it will earn United a lot of money. "Last year, United made £37.5m from merchandise. In the first year of the new deal they will rake in £75m from Adidas," notes the paper.
The deal dwarfs those of United's rivals. The likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool have deals worth just £30m a year.
-
Zimbabwe’s driving crisisUnder the Radar Southern African nation is experiencing a ‘public health disaster’ with one of the highest road fatality rates in the world
-
The Mint’s 250th anniversary coins face a whitewashing controversyThe Explainer The designs omitted several notable moments for civil rights and women’s rights
-
‘If regulators nix the rail merger, supply chain inefficiency will persist’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Amorim follows Maresca out of Premier League after ‘awful’ seasonIn the Spotlight Manchester United head coach sacked after dismal results and outburst against leadership, echoing comments by Chelsea boss when he quit last week
-
New Trafford: can it fix Manchester United's footballing problems?Talking Point Plan for £2 billion stadium despite staff job losses and lack of success on the pitch
-
Denis Law obituary: fond farewell to 'the King of the Stretford End'In the Spotlight Scottish footballer who was one of Manchester United's 'Holy Trinity' has died aged 84
-
Why Man United finally lost patience with ten HagTalking Point After another loss United sacked ten Hag in hopes of success in the Champion's League
-
The England kit: a furore over the flagIn the Spotlight Nike's redesign of the St George's Cross on the collar of the English national team's shirt has caused controversy
-
The super-shoes behind the race to break the two-hour marathonThe Explainer A race between major sports manufacturers has seen marathon times get increasingly faster
-
Manchester United and Mason Greenwood: duty of care or double standards?Talking Point The 21-year-old footballer’s possible return has provoked an outpouring of dismay from supporters
-
Liverpool 7 Man Utd 0: ‘welcome to Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool 2.0’feature Anfield’s ‘new front three’ were on fire in the humbling of their bitter rivals
