Kylian Mbappé Joins On, Ending His 20-Year Run With Nike

Kylian Mbappé, the third highest-paid player at this summer’s World Cup with estimated total earnings of $100 million, has left Nike and joined Swiss sports apparel and footwear company On to headline its newly launched soccer division.

“Now, I find myself surrounded by innovators who dream of the same things I do,” he wrote in Instagram post announcing his decision.

Financial terms were not disclosed. The Athletic reported that the 27-year-old striker received equity in the deal. On did not reply to a request for comment.

The company also announced that Thierry Henry would lead the new division as its director of football, having worked on it behind the scenes since late 2025. Barcelona midfielder and Swiss national team player Sydney Schertenleib, who signed with the company toward the end of last year as a training and lifestyle ambassador, will also be working with the soccer vertical.

The move puts an end to Mbappé’s decades-long partnership with Nike; he signed with the sportswear brand in 2006, when he was just 8 years old. He’ll still wear the Swoosh in some capacity during international contests, since Nike is the official jersey supplier for the French national team, which Mbappé starred for at the 2026 World Cup.

Nevertheless, Mbappé’s departure places even more stress on a tumultuous period for Nike. The company’s share price has fallen roughly 80% over the past five years. Whereas the stock was approaching $180 in November 2021, it opened just north of $36 on Friday.

And while Nike landed Norwegian and Manchester City striker Erling Haaland in 2023, the brand also lost Spain and Barcelona phenom Lamine Yamal, who departed for Adidas a year later. With Mbappé’s departure, Nike now shares its place with Adidas as the apparel and footwear maker with the most players among the 11 highest-paid players at this past World Cup.

Nike and Adidas both had four, while On, New Balance and Skechers each had one. In a move somewhat like On’s tie-up with Mbappé, Skechers signed England and Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane to a long-term deal in 2023 as it mounted its own push into soccer.

The sneaker industry as a whole is in a period of turmoil, given that consumers don’t appear to want to pay full price for shoes. On Holding recently missed estimates for Q2 net sales, slowed by the Americas market. Dick’s Sporting Goods, along with subsidiary Foot Locker, face a murky outlook for the rest of this year after lower-than-expected recent earnings reports and cut forecasts for the rest of the year.

Some brands are trying to counteract the uncertainty with similar ideas: Nike and Reebok recently announced collaborations with fashion houses for a white tennis shoe. Adidas execs revealed plans to revive the Stan Smith tennis shoe this fall. This is coming while fashion footwear continues to sell poorly, though these fashion sneakers will be targeted to high-end boutiques, as opposed to mass retail.

On was founded in 2010 and has since grown into a $9 billion company. Roger Federer was one of the first high-profile athletes to become involved with the fledgling brand when he invested in 2019 (as opposed to a traditional sponsorship), a move that helped boost the shoes into the mainstream. On signed several top tennis players in 2023, including American Ben Shelton and Poland’s Iga Świątek; the brand inked Italy’s Flavio Cobolli a year later. Świątek won three of her six Grand Slam titles with On, while Shelton recently reached the U.S. Open final, where he lost in four sets to Alexander Zverev.

In 2020, On announced the formation of its first professional running team, the On Athletics Club based in Boulder, Colo. The team now includes two-time Boston Marathon winner and reigning New York City Marathon winner Hellen Obiri of Kenya, who won the major marathons wearing On.

On, which trades on the NYSE under the symbol “ONON,” spiked at market open before falling mid-morning. As of publish, it’s flat compared with the day prior.

(This story has been updated to clarify the stock change from Thursday.)

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