Ligue 1 side Paris St. Germain "is putting pressure on its kit provider Nike to increase the value of the deal," according to Arnaud Hermant of LE PARISIEN. The club is seeking between €20M-€30M ($27M-$40M) annually from Nike. Nike, which currently pays about €6.5M ($9M) a year, "is ready to significantly upgrade its deal, but not in those proportions." Nike is already paying more than €40M ($53M) per year for the French national football team and is reluctant to pay close to €30M a year for PSG. At the same time, it is hard to imagine that Nike "wants to lose a historical partner such as PSG that finally is closing in on Europe's elite." Nike has been a partner of the club since '89 and its current deal is set to expire at the end of the '13-14 season. Given the new standing of the club and its growing int'l media coverage, PSG management believes that the club's sponsorship income "must be equal to those of major European clubs." In addition, PSG "has learned that Puma stole EPL side Arsenal from Nike for €30M per season" starting in '14-15. Club bosses believe that "the PSG brand is as good as that of Arsenal" (LE PARISIEN, 8/2).
