Aston Villa have become the latest Premier League club to ditch Rangers’ official retail partners Castore.
The Premier League title challengers are set to announce that global sportswear giants Adidas will be taking over the club’s retail operations from next season.
The story is being reported by the Telegraph with an official announcement expected imminently.
It comes after player complaints over the Aston Villa home jersey this season, which retained the sweat of the club’s stars and became heavy and uncomfortable on the pitch.
The situation threatened to blow up into a scandal due to the sodden kits sticking to the bodies of female players and now Castore have lost their second Premier League partner within the last four months.
Back in September Premier League outfit Newcastle United cut ties with Castore to announce a new deal with Adidas which will also come in to effect next season.
This also came off the back of some public embarrassment, with Newcastle United accidentally leaking the news in episodes of a fly-on-the-wall docu-series.
Castore suffer Aston Villa embarrassment
It means that Castore’s only Premier League side next year could be Wolves, who signed a “multi-year partnership” with the retailer back in 2021.
There have also been reports that Premier League Everton are set to sign a new deal with retailers, who made their first forays into football with Rangers back in 2020.
Rangers’ reputation as a retail basket case following the tumultuous years of Mike Ashley’s involvement meant the club took a punt with the emerging disruptor-brand.
By and large the kit deal with Rangers has been a roaring success, as the club’s retail wing continues to grow and Castore overcame early issues to win back supporters.
Not all remain convinced and the news about Aston Villa will come as substantial embarrassment to Castore, especially against the backdrop of the kit malfunction.
It is fundamentally not a good look when a sports retailer’s sportswear hinders rather than supplements the performance of elite sportspeople.
Can Rangers retailers bounce back?
With the brand’s earnings set to top £1bn, this is a setback for the retailer but whilst it will wound Castore’s image it should not be fatal.
Part bankrolled by Sir Andy Murray, the retailer boasts partnerships across the world of sport, from F1, to Rugby, Cricket, and everything else in between.
In football, Castore have partnerships with top flight clubs in Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, and Germany, as well as the Irish national team.
Interestingly, their story with Rangers was namedropped as being a key influence in Castore managing to expand their network into the Premier League and beyond.
Rangers signed a £25m multi-year partnership with Castore back in 2020, with reports claiming that the deal runs until 2025.
