Kylian Mbappe's sensational Nike split will signal a seismic shift for the future of football boot deals

Mbappe has been synonymous with Nike throughout his glittering career. The American sportswear behemoth showed incredible foresight and marketing nous by tying him to a boot deal at the age of eight, when he was barely starting out at boyhood club Bondy on the outskirts of Paris.

He had the signature 'Swoosh' on his feet when he made his scintillating breakthrough at Monaco, when he announced himself to the planet by firing France to glory as a teenager at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and when he scored a sublime hat-trick as Les Bleus just fell short against Argentina in the 2022 showpiece.

Over the years and on his rise to inevitable superstardom with two of the biggest clubs in the world in Paris Saint-Germain and now Real Madrid, Mbappe has increasingly become the face of the brand's football offering as their previous figurehead, Cristiano Ronaldo, enters the twilight of his career.

The 27-year-old's significance to the supplier is reflected in the fact they have kitted him out with 12 different signature boots to date, including the new, golden Mercurial Superfly 11, which only dropped earlier in August. They now look set to be his last.

Sensationally, it has emerged that Mbappe has already cut ties with Nike, bringing an abrupt end to their 19-year-long partnership. Online murmurs suggest the Frenchman's contract with the brand came to an end on July 31, and it has not been renewed.

That news is seismic enough in its own right. As we've mentioned, Mbappe is the new face of Nike's football silo and losing him to a competitor is a hammer blow, especially given the perception that they have already been struggling against German giants adidas in the never-ending sports marketing wars.

However, Mbappe is not signing with one of Nike's main rivals - not with the established order of adidas or PUMA, and not even with relative newcomers New Balance or Skechers. According to French insider Thibaut Vezirian, Mbappe will instead join forces with a brand that was previously an "unknown" in the football boot sphere on what is set to be a unique and incredibly lucrative deal, sending shockwaves through the industry.

Initial whispers suggest that the brand behind this incredible coup is, in fact, On - the Swiss sportswear company that has enjoyed a meteoric rise since it was founded just 16 years ago, making a name for itself by emerging as a market-disrupting running shoe specialist courtesy of their patented 'CloudTec' technology. As of August 2026, they are valued at around $10.77 billion (£7.95bn).

This, however, will be their first foray into the uber-competitive world of football boot manufacturing. Mbappe would undoubtedly become the world-famous face of On's soccer offering, inevitably turbo charging the launch of their first-ever boot from a marketing perspective.

But this won't be your average boot deal; according to Vezirian, the agreement will be mutually beneficial as Mbappe will have equity in On in the form of shares, and the 27-year-old is expected to have his own "sub-brand" of signature football boots alongside the company's general releases.

The suggestion is that the Real Madrid superstar will have a genuine influence on product strategy and brand building going forward. Given the attacker's celebrity in the football world, there is every chance that On will be pushing for the same level of gravitas that, ironically, Nike's Michael Jordan-inspired Jordan Brand possesses in the basketball space.

Many will ask why Mbappe would leave Nike behind after what has been such a fruitful partnership, but aside from the obvious financial draw, the opportunity to be hands-on, hold significant sway and be part of On's unprecedented success to date is evidently of huge appeal. Many modern athletes also consider themselves to be entrepreneurs, and Mbappe is clearly no different given his portfolio of commercial partnerships, which includes Dior, Oakley and EA Sports.

If you're questioning whether a formerly small start-up that is far from a household name has the financial might and pulling power to land a name like Mbappe, they already have the track record to prove it.

Back in 2019, just nine years after the company was established, On were able to convince tennis megastar Roger Federer - who, of course, also hails from Switzerland - to leave Nike and sign a footwear deal with them.

But not only did he wear their tennis shoes on court across the final two years of his incredible career, he also became a shareholder after investing a reported $50 million for a 3% stake, which is now worth multiple times more than that.

The company released the first iteration of a limited-edition lifestyle trainer called 'The Roger' the following year, with Federer involved in the design process and development of what has since become a very popular line.

But while luring Federer in the twilight of his career is one thing, landing Mbappe when he is at the absolute peak of his footballing powers and superstardom is quite another.

"If Mbappe were to enter a similar structure, the implications would be significant," sports marketing expert Steve Martin wrote in financial publication City AM recently. "For a challenger brand, his presence would deliver instant global credibility. Every match for Real Madrid, every Champions League night, every France international appearance becomes a global marketing platform."

Another footwear specialist, Skechers, can vouch for that "instant global credibility". Eyebrows were raised worldwide when record-breaking England and Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane signed a ground-breaking lifetime deal with the American brand in 2023, as they unexpectedly made their first foray into football.

However, the gamble has paid off handsomely; several others have since followed suit and Skechers are seemingly here to stay as disruptors in the boot market.

What's clear is that On and Mbappe are on the precipice of what will be a watershed moment for the sports marketing industry, and a partnership that could well change the nature of elite-level boot deals forever. While more big names might follow Mbappe by joining On, others will want to replicate this unique agreement elsewhere if it proves successful.

"Unlike traditional advertising, this is not reach that can be bought - it is earned through performance at the very highest level of the game," Martin continued. "But the real disruption would not just be visibility. It would be alignment. An equity-based deal transforms the relationship.

"Instead of Mbappe being paid to promote a product, he becomes financially invested in building the business. A structure combining a base fee, performance bonuses and a meaningful equity stake would align athlete and brand in a way that traditional sponsorship never can.

"For Mbappe, the upside is obvious: participation in long-term value creation. For the brand, the benefit is equally powerful: a global superstar who is not just the face of the product, but a stakeholder in its success."

There is, of course, plenty that On and Mbappe will need to get right for this to be a success, not least by co-designing and developing a marketable launch product. But the Frenchman's status as a bona fide global superstar is the ideal foundation for an incredibly lucrative long-term partnership - one that promises to send the Swiss brand into another stratosphere.