Talks between Manchester City and sportswear giant Puma are near completion

Figure of around £50m thought to be on par with the Nike deal struck by Chelsea

It will see City narrow the commercial gap on bitter rivals Manchester United

Manchester City are close to finalising a £50million-a-year kit contract with Puma, with the deal set to become the largest in their commercial history.

Sportsmail understands talks between Pep Guardiola's Premier League leaders and the sportswear giant are near completion.

ADVERTISEMENT

Their current agreement with Nike, which brings in around £20m each season, finishes at the end of this campaign and club officials were keen to search for better terms.

Manchester City are close to finalising a £50million-a-year kit contract with Puma

The figure of around £50m is thought to be on a par with the Nike deal struck by Chelsea

Click here to resize this module

The figure of around £50m is thought to be on a par with the Nike deal struck by Chelsea, which started this season.

It will see City narrow the gap on bitter rivals Manchester United, who are in the third term of their 10-year association with adidas worth £75m a season.

Puma are believed to be paying Arsenal £30m, the same figure Tottenham have agreed with Nike in the battle for commercial supremacy.

City's chief executive Ferran Soriano has worked to increase their portfolio. They were the first top-flight club to find a sleeve sponsor and they continue to build on a profile that yielded record revenues of £473.4m last year.

Show Player

It will see City narrow the gap on bitter rivals Manchester United, who earn £75m a year

Talks between Pep Guardiola’s Premier League leaders and Puma are near completion

There is a belief that Guardiola's brand of football has enhanced their global reach, though both City and Puma declined to comment when contacted by Sportsmail.

Eight points clear at the top of the Premier League, Guardiola has also challenged Raheem Sterling to smash his goalscoring record — and then better it next season.

The winger's Champions League winner against Feyenoord in midweek was his 11th of the campaign, equalling his haul for Liverpool four years ago and that of his first year at City in 2015-16.

Sterling is Guardiola's leading marksman, one ahead of both Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero, with an average of a goal every 89 minutes.

City's agreement with Nike, worth £20m each season, finishes at the end of this campaign

'He has to just focus on playing well and getting better,' Guardiola said after admitting his surprise at Sterling's exploits. 'We're going to celebrate how many goals (he scores) and next season we're going to have that record to break.

'It's the best moment of his career and we're in November and there's a lot of time left. It's good for him to know that we won certain games because he scored that goal — like Feyenoord.

ADVERTISEMENT

'We have a lot of players who can score goals. We cannot win the title with just one or two goalscorers.'