The reds are set to unveil a record-breaking deal with Warrior Sports, a subdivision of New Balance, worth £25M a year for the next 6 years, in the coming months.
The Adidas CEO said:
“The gap between their performance on the field and what the number should be is not in balance. Then we said, ‘Okay we will not do it. That’s the end of the story.’”
Liverpool’s new deal with Warrior will mean the club will be able to re-take control of all merchandise from adidas.
Hainer continued:
“It all depends on the success and the effort and the popularity, the exposure on TV, revenue you can generate by merchandising.
“This all has to be brought in line between what you offer and what you get. We thought their asking and the delivering is not in the right balance.”
After Umbro, Liverpool’s kits were manufactured with adidas between 1985 and 1996, before returning to the German sportswear firm in 2006. In the intervening decade the club were in a deal with Reebok.