Fenerbahce returns to Adidas sponsorship after dispute with Puma over Galatasaray

Fenerbahce has finalized an agreement with Adidas for kit manufacturing sponsorship, reportedly securing an annual revenue of €10 million ($10.5 million) over the next five years.

The club is set to terminate its existing partnership with Puma following a series of bilateral disputes, leading to Puma’s preference for partnering with Galatasaray instead of Fenerbahce.

Fenerbahce 2020-2021 jersey tease, last season of Adidas sponsorship, in front of Sukru Saracoglu Stadium in Istanbul, Türkiye, on Aug. 19, 2020. (Photo via wikipedia.com)

Notably, the new deal will increase Fenerbahce’s share of revenue from kit sales to 65%. Unlike the previous arrangement, Adidas will design exclusive jerseys for Fenerbahce instead of relying on catalog-based designs.

Additionally, the deal includes an annual payment of between €2.5 million ($2.6 million) and €4 million ($4.2 million) for the club’s amateur sports branches, providing a significant financial boost.

Puma to focus on Galatasaray over Fenerbahce

Puma decided to designate Galatasaray as its sole “elite club” partner in Türkiye, resulting in the termination of its partnership with Fenerbahce. Earlier this year, on March 13, Fenerbahce agreed to extend its sponsorship deal with Puma for two more years, but both parties later opted for a mutual cancellation.

The disagreement reportedly arose from Puma’s significant sponsorship payments to Galatasaray and controversies surrounding Fenerbahce’s five-star logo.

Tensions escalated in July when Puma stores displayed Galatasaray kits alongside Fenerbahce jerseys bearing the five-star logo.

After backlash from Galatasaray fans, the five-star logos were removed from store displays, prompting a strong reaction from Fenerbahce supporters. This series of events ultimately strained the relationship between Puma and Fenerbahce.

Fenerbahce returns to Adidas sponsorship after dispute with Puma over Galatasaray
Galatasaray and Fenerbahce’s five-star jerseys are placed next to each other in a Puma Store, on July 2024. (Photo via X)

The five-star logo symbolizes Fenerbahçe’s championships, with each star representing five titles. Officially recognized as 19, the club claims a total of 28 championships, including nine titles won before 1959.

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF), established in 1923 to regulate all professional football competitions in the country, officially does not recognize championships before establishment of Turkish Football League in 1959, currently known as Turkish Super League. On the other hand, Galatasaray has 24 championship titles after 1959.

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