leaves Puma to wear Decathlon’s Kipsta boots starting in November | Relief

Image Antoine Griezmann wearing black boots has already become the norm at the beginning of the season. What was happening? Why one of Puma’s icons since 2010 hid logo on your shoes? For several months there were intense negotiations with several important brands for the red-white team and, in the end, smoke White was taken by the multinational corporation that offered the most for it and which was fighting to gain a foothold in the market with the image of elite players: Decathlon.

From 1 November French player Atlético Madrid will now be able to showcase their new Kipsta boots, in what appears to be a strategic agreement for the Decathlon group, which is a subsidiary of Mulliez, present in 57 countries and with its own consolidated brands such as Kalenji, Artengo. or Quechua, among others.

This is a strategic bet on the part of Decathlon, which has been working very hard in recent months to gain a foothold in the high-level football market. They have just signed a three-year deal with UEFA that will see their Kipsta brand become the official ball of the Europa League and Conference League.after several seasons in professional football in France or Belgium. With this step forward they deal a serious blow: they snatch one of their stars from a direct rival and conquer the image of one of the most influential French players, a world champion.

In fact, in recent days 7 red and white colors have already been worn by representatives of Decathlon, CLR.in black, after being the protagonist of a large part of Puma’s releases in recent seasons, with the announcement of his signing with Barcelona, ​​his return to Atlético Madrid, becoming world champion in 2018 and finalist in 2022. Now, with this move, the French company is taking with it the former captain of the French national team (he has just announced his retirement from the national team) and one of Atlético’s heavyweights. The advertising statement they wanted: a French and multinational star.

This is not the first entry of the French brand into high-level sports. Lille’s stadium was named in his honor. (where Spain won EuroBasket 2015 and played qualifying for the last Olympic Games) until 2027 in exchange for six million euros, as well as a very significant presence in other sports.

They also signed French tennis player Gael Monfils and clear bet on the future: They were already a mass consumer brand, which in addition will now have leading figures in a market in which the youngest people very often buy their first sports kit when they are just starting out, at a very reasonable price. This is the first time we’ve seen an elite footballer sign for the brand, and it won’t be the last.