A reported market comparison of what Adidas pay clubs across world football has Celtic sitting at €6.5m per season, tucked between Nottingham Forest and Eintracht Frankfurt. It’s a striking number, but let’s be honest about where it actually comes from before anyone gets carried away.
Celtic have been listed at €6.5m per season in a new breakdown of reported Adidas payments to clubs worldwide, placing them ahead of Roma, Fulham and Frankfurt but behind Nottingham Forest and Ajax. The figures were shared by ESPN Brazil commentator Luiz Carlos Largo, who said he had gathered the numbers from several sources across the sports market rather than from any official club or Adidas disclosure.
Real Madrid top the list on a reported €120m, with Manchester United (€104m), Arsenal (€88m), Liverpool (€70m) and Bayern Munich (€65m) making up the rest of the top five. Celtic’s €6.5m sits well down that scale, behind Ajax (€8m), Lyon (€7.5m) and Forest (€7m), but ahead of Frankfurt (€6m), Fulham (€5.3m) and Roma (€4.6m).
Where the number actually comes from
Celtic have never confirmed the €6.5m figure themselves, and the full financial terms of the current deal were never disclosed when the extension was announced last year. It’s worth being clear-eyed here: this is Largo’s comparison figure, compiled from market sources, not a line item Celtic or Adidas have put their name to.
67 Hail Hail reported at the time of the extension that the contract was believed to be worth well in excess of £30m, but that’s a separate, broader valuation of the overall deal rather than confirmation of any single annual payment. The two figures aren’t measuring the same thing, and conflating them would be sloppy.
Context that matters
Adidas replaced New Balance as Celtic’s kit supplier back in 2020, and the partnership was extended in 2025. Michael Nicholson described that new agreement as the biggest official kit supplier partnership in the club’s history, which tells you something about how the relationship has grown even without every figure being made public. Supporters can judge the current strip for themselves via the 2026/27 Adidas home kit that’s already out.
Being placed just behind Ajax and Forest, and ahead of clubs from the Bundesliga, Premier League and Serie A, is a decent indication of where Celtic sit commercially even on unverified numbers. Celtic obviously can’t touch what’s reportedly going to Real Madrid, Manchester United or Arsenal, and nobody should pretend otherwise.
Why it matters beyond the table
Commercial income like this becomes more important, not less, when Champions League football disappears. Celtic’s own accounts have already shown the financial damage caused by missing out on Europe’s top competition, and every reliable revenue stream matters more in those years. Set against the scale of what’s on offer through Champions League participation, a kit deal in the €6.5m bracket is modest, but it’s steady, and steady counts for a lot when the football itself doesn’t always deliver.
There’s likely more in it for Celtic beyond the headline figure too, with retail and merchandise sales adding to whatever the base contract is worth – a point football finance commentators have made before about this deal. Take the €6.5m for what it is: a reported comparison figure, not a confirmed payment, but a reasonable indicator that Celtic remain a serious commercial operation even in a two-team domestic market.
Mon The Hoops.
