Having decided not to renew their five-year collaboration with New Balance which expires this summer, the Reds signed a multi-year deal with sportswear giants Nike. The deal is believed to see the Merseyside outfit net a reported £70m a year.
We've managed to get our hands on a couple of prototypes New Balance made for #LFC's 2020/21 season 👀 pic.twitter.com/VbaDVYkjtT
— Empire of the Kop (@empireofthekop) April 18, 2020
Following Liverpool’s agreement with Nike, a bitter legal battle ensued, in which former kit manufacturers New Balance believed the club had not honoured their current deal. A clause in their existing contract stated that New Balance could renew their collaboration as long as they matched any offer made by a competitor.
Liverpool won the case on the basis that New Balance could not offer the marketing that Nike could, hence the Nike deal was more favourable to the club.
With New Balance evidently keen to renew their relationships with the Anfield club, kit designs for the 2020/21 season were seemingly well underway. A Liverpool fan page (Empire of the Kop) has tweeted leaked images of the prospective design, offering fans an insight into what the new shirt could have looked like.
Noticeable differences from the Nike design are the club crest which is white on a red shield, while the reverse of the badge shows lyrics from the famous Liverpool anthem ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.
While Nike have come in for a certain amount of criticism from fans following the leak of their design, which includes a teal lining around the collar and sleeves, the New Balance design is completely red and white.
The prototype shirt also includes the wording ‘We are Liverpool’ and ‘This Means More’ on the inside of the shirt sleeves.
There is yet to have been any news on Nike’s intended away shirt design, though the New Balance prototype shows a striking yellow shirt with black and red detailing.
With no word on when the Premier League will resume following the coronavirus outbreak, it was recently revealed that the club would complete the 2019/20 in their New Balance strip, despite the deal expiring on 31 May 2020.
Source : 90min