© EuroFootball.com
"The champion of Spain officially announced signing a new five-year contract with the US sports apparel giant "Nike".
This means that the strongest European club will be wearing "Nike" jerseys both during training sessions and matches at least until 2013.
The value of the new contract is 150 million euros. The agreement also includes the possibility to extend the cooperation for an additional five years, until 2018.
The first contract between "Barcelona" and "Nike" was valid until the summer of 2008 and this autumn there were rumors that "Adidas" and "Puma" companies were already offering to produce the blaugrana jerseys, while representatives of "Barcelona" officially stated that they would first consider Nike's offer.
It is worth reminding that the Catalan superclub has been wearing "Nike" jerseys since 1998, when the American company replaced "Kappa", who had been dressing "Barcelona" until then.
"This agreement is another sign of our international recognition and the success of the club's management," said Barcelona president Joan Laporta.
"Barca" is one of the most wonderful and strongest teams in the world, playing great football. We are delighted to have partners like them," said Nike president Mark Parker after signing the contract.
This year in September, "Barcelona" also signed a cooperation agreement with UNICEF - an international organization fighting against child poverty and exploitation worldwide, and for the first time in the 107-year history of the club, an additional note - the UNICEF logo - was added to the blaugrana jerseys.
Currently, sport equipment marked with "Nike" and "Barcelona" logos can be officially purchased in more than 50 countries around the world.
