Top Players To Swap The Swoosh
Top Players To Swap The Swoosh
A look at some of the highest profile players to give Nike the boot.
The exit door at Nike HQ has witnessed a growing number of high-profile departures in recent seasons. After Mario Balotelli made headlines with his departure from the brand we're taking a look at other high profile players that have swapped the Swoosh and haven't looked back.
The alarm bells wont be ringing at Nike just yet - this has by no means been a mass exodus. The American brand still boast the cream of the world's elite including the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Wayne Rooney, but there are no doubt some they would rather have kept hold of.
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Fernando Torres | Torres' best days of his career were no doubt with Nike, spending over a decade in the Swoosh and scoring in the Euro 2008 and Euro 2012 final as well as scoring goals for fun with Liverpool. Nike may feel they got their moneys worth out of Nando with the goals having dried up since his switch to adidas but nevertheless, losing one of the world's most high profile strikers to a rival brand has to hurt.
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Dani Alves | Dani Alves joined adidas from Nike in 2010 by handing in his Mercurial Vapor Superfly boots for a pair of F50's. The Barca man has gone on to establish himself as one of the best attacking full backs in the world and has been used by adidas in numerous promotional campaigns including a starring role in the Nitrocharge Launch.
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Cesc Fabregas | In 2011 PUMA pulled off one of their biggest ever signings by capturing the signature of Cesc Fabregas from Nike. The Barca midfielder put pen to paper with PUMA on a five-year-deal worth a cool £16million and at the time making him the third highest earner from a boot deal behind just CR7 and David Beckham. For each year Cesc laces up the in the PowerCat he picks up £3.2million. Nice.
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Juan Mata | Mata's time in the Nike Mercurial stretched back to his days at Valencia but in early 2013 the Chelsea midfielder left the brand to join their biggest three-striped rival. In form, making headlines for his club, scoring in the Euro 2012 final for country and aged just 24, not the best time to lose a player to a rival brand but Mata traded in his Mercurials to sign for adidas to wear the Predator LZ. Capturing both Torres and Mata is largely put down to the kit supplier relationship between Chelsea and adidas.
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Marcelo | After a six month negotiation spell forced him to wear blackout boots Marcelo finally agreed a deal to leave Nike to join adidas' ranks. The pulling power of the relationship between Real Madrid and adidas proved to be more powerful than the link between Marcelo's Brazil and Nike and adidas got their man to ensure that both attacking full backs in el clasico matches would be wearing three stripes.
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Mario Balotelli | After making huge waves with a disguised newspaper boot made of his own headlines this week it appears Mario Balotelli has ended his relationship with Nike to move to, if the rumours are true, PUMA.
Nothing has been finalised yet but it is believed that Mario will bank around €5million a year once he signs on the dotted line, making him one of the highest earners in football. Nike apparently entered negotiations to renew the AC Milan striker's contract but it looks almost certain that his days in the CTR are over.
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Mesut Özil | It's fair to say that Mesut Özil's relationship with Nike turned pretty sour. Under the terms of their deal, Nike had the right to match any offer made by potential rival sponsors before he could legally switch brands but with his contract up Özil began wearing the adidas F50.
Nike took court action which resulted in Özil being fined £122,000 every time he laced up in adidas. In August this year Özil unsurprisingly left Nike to officially join the adidas team in a deal believed to be worth up to €25 million between now and 2020.
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Sergio Aguero | Before landing the services of Cesc Fabregas PUMA swooped in to sign Sergio Aguero, again from Nike. The Aguero capture began a spending spree for PUMA who have since built a strong squad of top players. The three-year-deal is earning the City striker £5 million in total, £1.25 million a year excluding substantial bonuses should he finish Premier League or Champions League top scorer.
Currently the most expensive deal in English football Aguero has rewarded PUMA with a huge catch of goals including one of the most famous goals the Premier League will ever see, that last minute winner against QPR to clinch the Premier League title. Is he missing his days with Nike? Doesn't look like it.
What are your thoughts on the players leaving Nike, have they still got the best squad of pro players?
