When we spoke on 2 October, in these pages, about the negotiations for Adidas' return as AC Milan's technical sponsor, the matter had begun to take greater shape compared to the rumours that had emerged in the hours beforehand. Now, more or less everyone has gone public: from the 2028-29 season and for the following ten years, Milan will once again have the three-stripe brand as their technical sponsor.
This will be the fourth joint venture between the Rossoneri and Adidas, following the two-year period from 1978 to 1980, the three-year spell from 1990 to 1993, and then the twenty years between 1998 and 2018, when Puma took over. However, this time the agreement will be something never seen before in financial terms, as Milan will earn €50 million per year, for a total of half a billion euros over a decade.
It is a record figure for Italian football, placing Milan among the top ten European clubs with the highest-value technical sponsorship deals. The financial figures are still some way behind the amounts Adidas injects into the coffers of Real Madrid (€120 million per year), Manchester United (€105 million), Arsenal (€85 million), Liverpool (€70 million) and Bayern Munich (€60 million). Nevertheless, the new agreement, which will come into effect in the summer of 2028, puts Milan at the top of the Italian sponsorship rankings, knocking Juventus off first place.
The Bianconeri, who also wear Adidas, have a guaranteed base fee of €40.6 million per year, while Inter receive €28 million from Nike.
What is clear is that the work carried out by RedBird under the guidance of Gerry Cardinale to secure sponsorship deals that further increase revenue is beginning to bear fruit. From the 2028-29 season, Milan's shirt, with its two traditional sponsors, namely Emirates as the main sponsor and Adidas as the technical sponsor, will have a base value of €80 million. Essentially, that is the price of a top player's transfer fee.
And the arrival of the new stadium, with Generali having already secured the naming rights for a total of €650 million, can only provide another positive boost for the two Milan clubs, allowing them to further increase their revenues and begin closing the gap on Europe's biggest clubs in terms of turnover and competitiveness in the transfer market.
On that subject, Milan will certainly sign a defender in January. Gonçalo Inácio has been the preferred option since June, but the Rossoneri club have also closely monitored Union Saint-Gilloise's Sylla. There are other profiles on Milan's shortlist too.
All this is happening while the club awaits the finalisation of Markus Krösche's arrival as the new Head of Football. The two clubs are discussing the amount of compensation Milan will have to pay Eintracht Frankfurt to have the non-compete clause included in his contract waived.
The return of the Milan-Adidas partnership has been very well received by the fans, who are hoping for shirt designs that are more in keeping with the Rossoneri tradition. It should be remembered, however, that Adidas has also produced a few questionable designs, such as the shirts from the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons, which left a lot to be desired in terms of the choice of stripes and the application of the St Andrew's Cross logo instead of the club crest, as relayed via Tuttosport today.
It is also true that, through its partnership with Milan, the German brand is adding another top club to its portfolio and confirming its desire to establish a sort of monopoly in football sponsorships. It is taking advantage of Nike's decline and the fact that other competitors, such as Puma (with the exception of Manchester City), do not have any particularly high-profile clubs among their partners.
