'Man City is the best team in the league': Puma to take over from Nike as Premier League champions' kit supplier

Sergio Aguero kept up his incredible scoring run at the Etihad Stadium with a successful penalty against West Ham. Reuters

It was announced on Thursday that sports brand Puma has signed a long-term strategic partnership with Premier League champions Manchester City, taking over from Nike as it seeks to make up for the loss of Arsenal to German rival Adidas, the sportswear company said on Thursday.

British media have reported the deal could be worth £50 million (Dh244m) a year, more than double what Nike was paying, making it the third biggest in English football, behind Adidas's sponsorship of Manchester United and Nike's partnership with Chelsea.

"We think we are getting a fair deal," Puma chief executive Bjorn Gulden told Reuters. "Man City is the best team in that league ... they are very forward thinking and extremely analytical with the way they approach the game and the business."

The news follows Wednesday's 1-0 Premier League win over West Ham United, a result that "delighted" manager Pep Guardiola just days after his side's exhaustive effort to secure the League Cup trophy.

Guardiola's men were indebted to a 59th-minute penalty from top scorer Sergio Aguero to secure three points that left the English champions a point behind leaders Liverpool, who pummeled Watford 5-0 at home on Wednesday.

It came just three days after a shoot-out win over Chelsea at Wembley secured the first of what could potentially be an incredible quadruple trophy bid for City this season, with the Premier League, FA Cup and Uefa Champions League still in their sights.

City didn't make life easy for themselves on Wednesday and were indebted to what West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini labelled a "soft" penalty, awarded when Felipe Anderson made contact with City substitute Bernardo Silva, for giving Aguero the chance to score the lone goal.

"We played so well. You see the result, 1-0, you think it could be better," Guardiola said. "Of course we created an incredible amount of chances.

"The first five minutes could be 2-0, with three clear chances. But the performance in the way we defended second balls, we did everything. After 120 minutes [against Chelsea], the tension we played with was amazing. We made an incredible performance. I'm so delighted with the way we play."

The goal continued Aguero's astonishing goalscoring run, particularly at the Etihad where he has now scored 30 goals in his last 24 league starts -- every one of them ending in a City victory.

Guardiola's side are away to Bournemouth in the league on Saturday.