United to welcome £30m bidding war over kit deal between Nike and Liverpool sponsors Warrior

Champions Manchester United are set for more staggering riches as it emerged that American sportswear giants Nike and Warrior will fight it out for the rights to the club’s new kit deal.



United – who celebrated their 20th league title after beating Aston Villa 3-0 at Old Trafford last night – currently wear a strip manufactured by Nike, a deal that nets the club a basic sum of £23.5m-a-year.



Tick the right box: Manchester United have enjoyed a long relationship with Nike, but are likely to welcome a bidding war with rivals to drive up their revenue







But already England’s most commercially successful football club are set to smash through the £30m-a-year barrier and beyond with their next contract after being told by up and coming Warrior that they will compete for the rights when United become legally able to talk to rival bidders at the end of this summer.



Although United’s current deal doesn’t expire until the end of the 2014-15 season, they are already in what is known as a six-month ‘period of exclusivity’ with Nike, during which time they can talk only to them.



However, the club have already warned that they expect a significant increase on the last deal – thrashed out as long ago as 2002 – and the fact they, and indeed Nike, are aware of Warrior’s interest will only strengthen the club’s hand.



Kitted out: Liverpool have a mega deal with Warrior, who are looking to expand

On board: Vincent Kompany

'We feel we know, with some clarity, the value of our rights, and we are bullish about the abundance of opportunities available to accelerate the growth of this business,' United vice-chairman Ed Woodward said of the Nike deal at the end of last year.

'Our six-month negotiating window with [Nike] starts in February. We look forward to sitting down with them then.'



Warrior are a well-established brand in America, specialising in lacrosse and ice-hockey equipment.



Relatively unknown in football circles until recently, they are nevertheless aggressively seeking a place in the market and made their first significant breakthrough when they struck a British record £25m-a-year deal to make Liverpool’s kit in 2011.



Their clear interest in snatching the United contract from Nike means that even if the Old Trafford club strike a deal with their current partners in the coming weeks, the price will already have been driven up.



