Li Ning Denies Mbappé Signing Rumour; Sponsor Undecided After Nike Contract Expiry

On August 12, news spread across the sports world that Chinese sportswear brand Li Ning would sign French star Kylian Mbappé. The market reported that the cooperation was not a traditional endorsement: Mbappé would invest and take an equity stake, while Li Ning would be responsible for building an independent personal brand centred on him. Hours later, Li Ning officially responded that the content was untrue, and that it had not participated in and had no plans to advance any related cooperation.

Mbappé's partnership with Nike began in childhood, with the player sponsored by Nike since the age of 8. According to French sources, the contract between the two sides expired on July 31, 2026, without a renewal being reached. Mbappé has recently continued to promote Nike's new boots on his personal social media and appears on Nike's official website. After the contract expired, Mbappé did not wear boots with blacked-out logos in training, differing from industry practice. Nike holds a right of first refusal clause in the contract, and Mbappé cannot formally appear in a new brand before early 2027.

French media including L'Équipe reported that Mbappé's new sponsor will not be traditional football giants such as Adidas or Puma. French journalist Thibaud Vézirian reported that Mbappé is finalising an agreement with a "surprising" brand, with the core of the proposal being an "equity plus exclusive sub-brand" model.

On co-founder Olivier Bernhard recently confirmed that the brand is evaluating opportunities to enter emerging sports areas such as football, and expressed interest in the football category. On's Asia-Pacific public relations head, Adrian, responded that the company would not comment on rumours of potential partnerships, and that there was currently no information to announce.

Decathlon's sub-brand KIPSTA has focused on football product design since 2016, and in January 2025 signed French star Antoine Griezmann, who ended his 14-year partnership with Puma. Decathlon is already the official match ball supplier for the Europa League, the Conference League, Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, with its cooperation with the French Professional Football League renewed through 2032. Decathlon said on August 13 that its domestic team had not received any related information.

Skechers signed England captain Harry Kane to a lifetime contract in 2023 and launched its first professional football boot, the SKX_01. In 2025 it launched the iterative SKX_2, and in May 2026 released the new-generation lightweight football boot Razor 2, which was worn by multiple players at the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Skechers' global sales in the first half of 2025 reached US$4.85 billion, up 10% year over year. On August 13, Skechers' US side did not respond to inquiries.

Under Armour responded on August 13 that its China market had not received any related information, and said the China team does not do much football; even if it were to discuss cooperation with Mbappé, that would be the European team's remit. In the 2026 World Cup final in the United States, Canada and Mexico, Spanish forward Ferran Torres scored the only goal of the match wearing Under Armour's Shadow Elite 4 Mach FG football boots.

361 Degrees had previously been listed by market rumours as a potential option, having already cooperated with international players such as Aaron Gordon in basketball. 361 Degrees has not yet responded to inquiries.