Nike to end 13-year kit deal with Manchester United at end of season as Adidas become frontrunners for £750m sponsorship



Adidas are expected to replace Nike as shirt sponsors

US sportswear giants were put off by expected costs of £60m a year

United have unveiled their new strip for the 2014-15 season



Nike have confirmed their decision to pull out of negotiations



HELLO KITTY!

CLICK HERE to read about the unveiling of Manchester United's new home kit for the 2014-15 season.

Adidas are the frontrunners to secure the next major kit deal with Manchester United after Nike confirmed that they have pulled out of the running.

It brings an end to a 13-year association that United have enjoyed with the sportswear giants after signing a long-term deal with the firm in 2002.

A Nike statement released on Tuesday afternoon read: ‘Any partnership with a club or federation has to be mutually beneficial and the terms that were on offer for a renewed contract did not represent good value for Nike’s shareholders.

Scroll down for video...

Strip show: Nike are set to end their shirt sponsorship deal with Manchester United

Get shirty! United received £38 million from the US sportswear company in 2012

‘We are proud to have partnered with them for the last 12 years and will continue to sponsor the club until the end of the season.

‘Manchester United is a great club with passionate fans. We are proud to have partnered with them for the last 12 years and will continue to sponsor the club until the end of the 2014/15 season.



'Any partnership with a club or federation has to be mutually beneficial and the terms that were on offer for a renewed contract did not represent good value for Nike’s shareholders. We look forward to a successful final season with the club.’



The withdrawal is expected to clear the way for the club to sign a lucrative new deal with German sportswear company Adidas.

Sportsmail revealed in May that Adidas were in pole position to take over from Nike and on Monday columnist Charles Sale told how Adidas executives remain confident they will replace Nike as Manchester United’s shirt suppliers.

Way back when: Bryan Robson, the Manchester United captain, wearing the three stripes of Adidas when shaking hands with Diego Maradona ahead of the 1984 European Cup Winners' Cup tie with Barcelona

Captain marvel: Robson shows off the FA Cup during Manchester United's previous kit partnership with Adidas in the eighties and early nineties

Trio: Norman Whiteside, Bryan Robson and Frank Stapleton pictured in Adidas sweatshirts in 1986

Off the peg: Manchester United have unveiled their new kit for the 2014-15 season

United received around £38million from the Nike deal in 2012-13, including its share of profit from the sale of merchandise around the world.

United’s strip for the new season - sponsored by Chevrolet and produced by Nike- was officially released on Monday and will be worn until the end of this season.

Nike and Adidas are battling for supremacy in the football kit industry, with the American company having made major inroads into a sport that its German rival long dominated.

Sportsmail understands the Adidas deal could be worth in the region of £750m over 10 years.

