Man Utd risk losing £900m deal if Ruben Amorim fears are realised | OneFootball

Manchester United would be at risk of losing their incredibly lucrative adidas partnership should the worst happen and the club be relegated from the Premier League this season.

Such a dire fall from grace had been unthinkable until Ruben Amorim admitted it is "clear" that the club are in a relegation battle following a dreadful run of results.

United have lost five of their last six Premier League games and sit just seven points above the bottom three at the halfway stage of the season. It has quickly turned into a far cry from the brief honeymoon period of the Amorim era when a thrashing of Everton at Old Trafford left them six points shy of second place.

The club's kit deal with adidas was renewed 18 months ago, due to start in 2025 for a second ten-year run after the pair originally came back together a decade ago. The figure attached was upped from £750m to a reported £900m, making it world football's most valuable such deal overall.

Ruben Amorim has acknowledged the threat of relegation / Molly Darlington/Copa/GettyImages

But there are contractual clauses that would protect adidas from throwing money at a lame duck, which have now publicly surfaced given the on-field turmoil.

In United's published accounts for 2023/24, during which the new adidas deal was announced, the following was confirmed: "Adidas may reduce the applicable payments for a year by 50% if the men's first team is not participating in the English Premier League during that year.

"In addition, Adidas may terminate the agreement by giving one full-season's notice if the men's first team is relegated from the English Premier League or if it is otherwise determined that the men's first team shall not be participating in the Premier League or the top English league."

It means should United succumb to relegation in 2025, which is still not likely even if becoming a possible threat, adidas could half their payments to £45m per season. Alternatively, they could end the deal altogether and walk away before the start of the 2026/27 campaign.