Image: Barcelona’s abandoned kit for 2024/25 designed before new Nike deal | OneFootball

Barcelona’s long-running negotiations with Nike almost produced one of the biggest commercial changes in the club’s history. 

While the two sides eventually agreed to a new long-term partnership, fresh details have revealed just how close Barça came to going in a completely different direction.

Back in 2024, Barcelona secured a landmark extension with Nike until 2038 in a deal worth around €1.7 billion, complete with a substantial signing bonus that provided an immediate boost to the club’s financial position and helped ease Financial Fair Play concerns.

The agreement brought an end to months of uncertainty, but it also left behind one fascinating reminder of how seriously Barcelona had prepared for a possible split.

Barcelona had an alternative kit ready

Before the renewal was finalised, Barcelona had already begun planning for life without Nike.

It is suggested that the club commissioned the production of around 300,000 official garments under Barça’s own brand, anticipating the possibility that negotiations could collapse. 

Those products were never released after the agreement with Nike was completed, leaving millions of euros worth of merchandise sitting in storage.

Among the unused stock were first-team jerseys valued at €89 each, all manufactured during the tense period when the future of Barcelona’s kit supplier remained uncertain.

Now, one of those designs has unexpectedly resurfaced.

According to the report, a shirt collector has obtained an unreleased prototype of the jersey that Barcelona would have worn had the Nike deal fallen through. 

The design carries the club’s own branding rather than Nike’s famous swoosh.

Thousands of prototypes remain hidden

The resurfaced shirt is believed to be just one of thousands of prototypes that remain stored in an industrial warehouse.

Although fans never saw the design on the pitch, Barcelona had already completed production on a significant quantity of merchandise before negotiations with Nike took a positive turn. 

Once the two parties repaired their relationship and agreed to a new long-term contract, those plans were abandoned overnight.