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aris Saint-Germain star Neymar Jr. has left his partnership with Nike after 15 years to sign with PUMA, to wear PUMA’s KING football boots on the pitch, and be a brand ambassador off the pitch.
The move comes after Neymar Jr. recently announced he had ended his partnership with Nike two years before the end of the reported $163 million deal, after being signed to Nike since the age of 13.
The deal also saw PUMA partner with NR Sports, the company that holds the image rights of the Brazilian international.
PUMA CEO, Bjørn Gulden, said the global sportswear company is excited to work with Neymar Jr.
“Neymar Jr. joining our PUMA family is fantastic,” Gulden said.
“He is one of the best players in the world and extremely influential for the global football and youth culture.
“We are very excited and look forward to working with him both on and off the pitch,” he said.
In a statement on his Twitter, Neymar Jr. said he was inspired by the football legends that came before him that all wore PUMA’s KING football boots.
“At the beginning of each new season, I take some time to think about my career and the choices I have made.
I think about the dreams I had when I started this sport, and the path that lies ahead.
This will be a different season, a special season.
For that reason, as I have done in the past, I decided to write this text.
I am about to live a unique experience, a new challenge.
I consider myself privileged to have had a life filled with unique experiences and wonderful challenges.
I grew up watching videos of great football legends such as Pele, Cruyff, Matthaus, Eusebio and Maradona …
These were the kings of the pitch, the kings of my sport.
And they had something in common — a love of the game, a drive to be the best version of themselves and a spirit that unites all.
It’s not always about being the best or the greatest but instead, to inspire future generations.
That is exactly what I have dreamt of for myself, to give all of me to football because football has given me everything I have.
I want to do it my way, using my gift.
New challenges, new responsibilities, I understand that.
I wish to bring back the legacy that those athletes created on the pitch.
I was to help bring back memories from each of their football histories and the magic they gave us in their classic leather boots — and through boots like those, leave behind my own legacy.
They each played in PUMA, and each of them created their magic in the KING.
And so now, as I begin this new season, I want the KING to reign on the pitch and inspire generations as it has inspired me and others.
To be in this project, associating myself to those kings of football, through KING, it is a dream.
For these reasons, from today onward, I have the honour to unite with the brand that helped the biggest legends of football become what they are.
Every time I lace my boots, my KING boots, I will do anything to achieve all of my dreams to honour my name and that of all those great ones who wore the KING before me.
This will be my PUMA history.
The KING is back!”
