English Premier League football club Manchester United is set to agree a new world-record kit deal with US sportswear giant Nike, according to UK newspapers the Mirror and the Mail.
Nike has supplied United kits for the past 13 years and its current deal expires at the end of the 2014-15 season. Both newspapers reported the fresh terms will be worth more than £600m (€728m/$1bn) over a 10-year term.
The figure of more than £60m per year is almost double the £31m current world leader Real Madrid is said to secure from Adidas on an annual basis under an agreement running from 2012 to 2020.
Rival sportswear firms Adidas, Puma and Warrior are all said to have been in the running for the United contract before Nike successfully made its case for a lucrative renewal.
Premier League champion United in August 2012 announced that its new shirt sponsorship deal with US automotive firm Chevrolet will bring in a record-breaking $559m (€411m) over the seven-year duration of the agreement. United’s partnership with the General Motors brand will commence in the 2014-15 season and run through 2020-21.