Overview
- Nike abruptly called off a planned London photoshoot on Thursday and ended the proposed collaboration, saying the project did not indicate a broader relationship.
- The company told reporters it regretted that negotiations reached an advanced stage before the decision and that a deeper review of the player's past drove the reversal.
- Reporting says early commercial terms had been agreed, including a €75,000 product allowance and travel for the shoot, showing talks had moved beyond initial contact.
- The player's 2021 conviction in France for complicity in blackmail related to a sex-tape earned a one-year suspended sentence and a €75,000 fine, a verdict his lawyer contests in nuance.
- The cancellation leaves the high-profile striker, who left Al Hilal in late August and has no active major boot sponsor after his Adidas deal expired, facing fresh commercial and playing uncertainty and highlights how brands are vetting reputational risk.