Only one week after he unveiled his latest “CR7” shoe line at the Milan Shoe Fair, Cristiano Ronaldo has decided to cease production of trainers that were a part of the show.
The reason?
Nike.
Turns out, while Ronaldo had previously released lines of clothing and underwear, the Swoosh wasn’t thrilled with Ronaldo making his own trainers (Ronaldo’s own shoe brand launched last year). Ronaldo has his own apparel collection under Nike that also includes soccer cleats. To make matters more awkward, Ronaldo’s endorsed Nike products are also labeled “CR7” so it’s understandable that Nike was a bit pissed about the endeavor.
So, Nike told Ronaldo that he could either keep his trainers or keep his Nike endorsement deal but he couldn’t keep both.
Ronaldo decided to stop production of his trainers rather than risk his contract with Nike. Considering that Ronaldo reportedly gets paid about £14.1 million per year due to his Nike contract, that decision is completely understandable.