Adidas CEO Bjorn Gulden said that the "sum reportedly paid by Nike to lure the German football team away" from Adidas was "inexplicable," according to Jean-Philippe Lacour of the AFP. Defending the company's decision “not to enter into a bidding war with its fierce US rivals,” Gulden said that the German sport outfitter “would continue to go after major kit deals, including the franchise for France, but only if the price is right.” News of the breakup with the German football team “came at a bad time for Adidas,” which had “slumped to its first annual loss in over three decades in 2023.” The German Football Association said that the decision was “made in the interests of the domestic game and grassroots football.” But the “shock announcement,” just a few weeks before Germany is set to host the 2024 European football championships, prompted an “outcry from politicians who accused the DFB of a lack of patriotism.” Gulden said, “Nike won with, by all accounts, a huge offer.” He added, “If the numbers are right for what Nike paid the DFB, they are inexplicable for us.” Gulden said that international football “was not everything,” lauding the “advertising impact” made by Adidas's partnerships with clubs like La Liga's Real Madrid and Bundesliga's Bayern Munich. Gulden: “We try always to invest where one gets the best advertising impact and can make the highest sales, and we'll continue to do that” (AFP, 4/19).
