France on Tuesday unveiled Zinedine Zidane as their new head coach on a four-year contract. The former World Cup winner takes over from Didier Deschamps who declined a contract renewal post the 2026 FIFA World Cup, ending his charge of14 years.
Zidane was always going to be the first person the French Football Federation sought for the job, given his icon status in the country and a phenomenal managerial record. In his only senior role at Real Madrid, the 54-year-old led the Los Blancos to an unprecedented threepeat in the UEFA Champions League as well as a couple of La Liga titles across two stints.
However, despite the perfect fit, the partnership does not come without its own share of problems.
Zidane is one of the oldest active brand ambassadors for German sportswear brand Adidas with their relationship dating back to 1996. However, the team Zidane now represents are in a long-term deal with Nike as their kit manufacturers.
While usually a team’s jersey makers largely focus on the players and are not much bothered about the head coach’s personal sponsorships, Zidane is understandably an exception. The Frenchman is one of the most recognizable names in the world even two decades post-retirement, and carries with him a massive mass appeal.
Bienvenue chez toi, Zinédine. pic.twitter.com/mZQFrNqahs
— adidasfr (@adidasFR) July 28, 2026
The same is reflected on how Adidas has kept him on hook as one of the brand’s faces for nearly three decades now.
At his unveiling, Zidane was asked blank about the apparent conflict of interest and whether it signalled an end to his time with Adidas. The coach was quick to dismiss any such notions, but also stressed he had nothing such as a lifetime deal with Adidas.
“I’ve been under contract with Adidas for thirty years, but that won’t change anything. Adidas isn’t going to interfere with my being on the French national team. I’m not going to leave my sponsor of thirty years,” he said to reporters.
His answer only raised more questions, but FFF President Philippe Diallo was on-hand at the venue to explain the intricacies of their arrangement. He revealed that Zidane would be kitted in official Nike wear during training but would be allowed to wear Adidas boots still, and that Nike’s stipulations won’t extend to his commitments beyond his time with the French football team.
“When the coach comes to training camps, he will wear Nike…He [Zidane] will choose his own shoes, as that’s everyone’s prerogative. But for everything else, it will be Nike. In his private life, outside of his role as national team coach, he has complete freedom to do what he wants and with whomever he chooses,” Diallo said.
The first shared historic moment between Zidane and Adidas arrived at the 1998 FIFA World Cup final. Playing Nike-clad Brazil, Zidane scored two headers to lead Les Bleus to the trophy, with Adidas’ three-stripe logo proudly emblazoned on his chest.
In fact, Adidas have immortalized the jersey since in Paris, close to the Stade de France where the final occurred. A futsal park inaugurated by them bears an outright replication of Zidane’s historic number 19 shirt as its surface art.
And while the goals came from the head, on Zidane’s feet were the Predator Accelerators which became a staple for aspiring footballers thereafter.
Adidas even launched a special edition of the Predator Precision in Zizou’s honour after he was named the FIFA World Player of the year in 2000. Recently, they released another Predator ZZ to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the iconic gold boots.
One would imagine Zidane’s pull might even be enough to change the national team’s trajectory and help bring Adidas on-board. However, France themselves have considerable history with Nike now.
The two joined hands in 2011 which saw France end a 38-year period of being represented by Adidas. Since then, France has renewed the deal twice already, the latest of which came in 2024 and is set to run till 2034 worth reportedly USD 100 million annually.
Regardless of what Zidane wears, history will be made one way or another. Now it is between Nike and Adidas to fight out who can milk the most out of the lucrative partnerships at hand.
