German sportswear giant Adidas and Spanish LaLiga football club Real Madrid are close to agreeing a record-breaking extension of their kit partnership, according to Marca.
The Spanish newspaper claims the two parties are “a step away” from agreeing a new 10-year contract. The new deal will reportedly be signed before the end of this season, renewing the one that was penned in 2012 and was due to end in June 2020.
The deal, which Marca claims will net Madrid as much as €140m ($153m) per season, would mark the most lucrative on an annual basis in the history of football kit sponsorship.
The news comes days after reports emerged that Adidas is preparing to sever its ties with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) four years early. Adidas, which is one of the IAAF's official partners, along with Canon, Mondo, Seiko, TBS, TDK and Toyota, signed an 11-year deal with the governing body in November 2008.
UK public-service broadcaster the BBC, citing anonymous sources, said that the sponsorship deal was worth around $8m (€7.4m) per year, and added that Adidas informed the IAAF in November that it was considering pulling the plug on the partnership early after a report outlined claims of state-sponsored doping in Russian athletics.