Everton fans may be concerned to see the latest business news coming from Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen.
Leverkusen‘s achievement of going unbeaten in the German league for a whole season is even more impressive when you consider that their annual revenue is less than £240m.
For context, Everton‘s turnover throughout the same period was £172m while Premier League champions Man City’s was £713m.
Managed by Xabi Alonso, a former favourite of Everton’s rivals Liverpool, the club also won the German cup and reached the final of the Europa League.
Everton meanwhile, whose global profile is arguably as big as Leverkusen’s with a similarly passionate fanbase, finished 15th after two points deductions for PSR breaches.
There is also the matter of the club’s future ownership, which remains unresolved after Dan Friedkin pulled out of talks to buy Everton following a period of exclusive talks with Farhad Moshiri.
Overall then, the two clubs are poles apart in most areas – but they do have one mutual interest.
Bayer Leverkusen terminate Castore deal
Castore, who were founded in Everton’s native Liverpool in 2015, are the biggest new name on the football kit scene.
Having sponsored the likes of McLaren Racing, Andy Murray and the England cricket team, the brand appear to now be focusing their commercial firepower on football.
Their portfolio of partnerships in recent years has included the likes of Rangers, Newcastle United, Sevilla, Wolves, Athletic Bilbao and, since 2022, Bayer Leverkusen.
However, as relayed by Insider Sport, the German champions are set to terminate their deal with Castore three years ahead of schedule.
Apparently, Bayer’s away kit – which presumably will have been in huge demand given their success on the pitch – has been out of stock for some time as Castore have been hit with supply issues.
The club’s fans have also reported a litany of quality issues since the deal began, which echoes reports of similar problems from the brand’s English club partners.
That may ring alarm bells for Everton, who have signed a multi-year deal reportedly worth at least £40m to the club in total.
The headline figures do not tell the whole story, but the deal represents a huge upswing on the previous deal with Hummel in any case.
Further reports of logistical and quality issues will therefore concern Everton.
TBR Analysis: How important is Everton’s kit deal with Castore?
At £20m per year, the Toffees deal with Castore is among the most lucrative in the Premier League outside the so-called ‘Big Six’.
However, while the breakdown of the deal is not public knowledge, it will likely be heavily incentivised and structured based on sales and other bonuses – as is standard within the industry.
But with Everton still not out of the woods in terms of their PSR situation, any increase to their revenue base will be hugely welcomed by board and fans alike.
Significantly, Castore have also become a ‘founding partner’ for Everton’s new stadium at Bramley Moore Dock, which they are set to move into from 2025-26.
The club will hope the Castore deal can kickstart a commercial rush for the new stadium, perhaps including a lucrative naming rights deal.
