Barcelona set to sign £78.2m-a-season deal with Nike and surpass Manchester United Adidas sponsorship

Barcelona are set to sign a new €100m-a-season (£78.2m, $112.6m) deal with Nike to extend their current sponsorship agreement for another 10 years, according to Catalan publication ARA. The contract would beat Manchester United's kit deal to become the most expensive in the world of football.

Barcelona's current deal with Nike is said to be worth just €35m a season and expires in the summer of 2018.

Spanish publication AS previously reported in March that the US company were ready to make a big-money offer to Barcelona amid concerns the Catalan side could follow in the footsteps of teams like Manchester United, who left Nike in the summer of 2014 to sign a record-breaking £75m-a-season deal with Adidas that lasts ten years.

AS claimed Nike were ready to triple their deal with Barcelona, putting them ahead of both Manchester United and La Liga arch-rivals Real Madrid, who reportedly receive £31m a season from Adidas.

ARA now reports negotiations have been successful and the new deal between Barcelona and Nike could be made official within the next three weeks.

The news would be a big boost for Nike in their long-running battle with Adidas, following The Telegraph recently reporting they were also set to steal the contract for Chelsea. The Blues are understood to have agreed a £60m-a-season kit deal with Nike, doubling their current contract with Adidas.