This is one of the big off-field news stories that has shaken the football world in recent days. The Swiss brand On announced on September 18 the arrival of Kylian Mbappé in its ranks. After twenty years spent at Nike, of which he had become one of the great figures, the captain of the French team took the gamble by joining an equipment manufacturer previously present primarily in tennis and running.
For sports economist Luc Arrondel, "it's more of an investment for him than a sponsorship contract." By joining the Swiss brand On after years at Nike, Kylian Mbappé marks a turning point in his non-sporting career and asserts himself as a seasoned manager of his own image. If the amount of this new contract has not been communicated, the Real Madrid player and his new equipment supplier have clarified that he is participating in the capital and would be an actor invested in the creation of the new line of football shoes that We wish to develop.
We enter the football market
We, like Nike, are not the ones who take the most risks. The first brand mentioned, created in 2010, is on the rise, and with this arrival, it could succeed in breaking into football, a market which is still unknown to it. In its press release on Friday, On announced "her arrival in the world of football", where she wants to bring "a new perspective".
The American brand, with an annual turnover of around 50 billion, has other leading figures to rely on (Erling Haaland, Vinicius Jr.), even if they do not all have, for the moment, the aura of the captain of the Blues. Which continued the discussions around his major transfer, by hiding the comma on his crampons during the Madrid derby in La Liga on Sunday. But not enough to shake the American giant. “For Nike, it’s marginal,” puts Luc Arrondel into perspective, taking as an example “the stock price, the Nike share price,” which “has not collapsed” since the announcement.
On the other hand, Kylian Mbappé is the one who "makes the riskiest bet", for Luc Arrondel: "It is undoubtedly a much riskier choice than staying at Nike [...] He gives up a little on the easy way, in quotes, because I believe that he had the possibility of having a fairly juicy contract with Nike, of the order of 20 million euros per year, according to the figures circulating. In addition to focusing on continuity with the comma brand, which has accompanied it since its seven years.
“He started managing his post-career”
For observers, the choice of the captain of the Blues goes beyond the framework of the sponsorship contract and can be read from a global perspective of investment and preparation for the future. "I think that it really fits into Kylian Mbappé's individual strategy. That he has invested in the future. I see it more as management of his post-career than as one of the moment [...] He began the management of his post-career with this contract", believes Luc Arrondel.
The entry into the capital also opens up new prospects of remuneration for the 27-year-old player, beyond sponsorship, with the possibility of remaining involved in the company, and of benefiting from it, even after the end of his career, always with this idea of betting for the future. Just like his involvement in the creation of the new line of crampons, and the effects in terms of marketing and visibility that go with it.
It is perhaps also the continuation of what he started to do, he no longer invests in a club, he invests in a brand of sports equipment.
Luc Arrondel, sports economist
at franceinfo: sport
The former Parisian, who is part of the very exclusive club of the most bankable footballers on the planet, is almost a business in his own right, which he continues to develop and make profitable. “He is one of the footballers apart, superstars who earn almost 100 million per year, so in quotes, they are real companies. Moreover, Kylian Mbappé has already bought a football club with the Stade Malherbe in Caen. This contract is part of the same strategy,” explains Luc Arrondel. Enough to ensure his back on an extra-sporting level, in parallel with his success on the field.
