Mbappé trades Nike history for a stake in On’s future
After nearly 20 years with Nike, Kylian Mbappé is joining On as an investor, ambassador, and hands-on partner in its bid to break football’s footwear duopoly.
Kylian Mbappé is not simply changing boots. After a relationship with Nike that stretches back roughly 20 years to his childhood, the French superstar has joined Swiss sportswear challenger On as a global ambassador and equity partner.
The structure matters. Rather than signing a conventional endorsement agreement, Mbappé is taking a stake in On and working directly with its product development team. He will help design and test football boots and apparel ahead of the company’s first football boot launch in 2027, a range being built around LightSpray™, its robotic manufacturing process for sprayed-filament uppers. “What drew me to On was the opportunity to build something entirely new together that will help shape tomorrow’s game,” Mbappé said.
Thierry Henry, who became On’s director of football in late 2025, was instrumental in bringing him aboard. The growing football roster also includes Swiss international Sydney Schertenleib of FC Barcelona, who said she had “never felt the ball like I have in the product the team is working on.” Henry framed the project as an attempt to listen before it sells: “Building something new in football requires a bold and original approach... We want to listen to players and create something that can genuinely add to the game.”
For founder and co-CEO David Allemann, the pitch is bigger than a signature athlete. “Football needs new ideas and a challenge to what is possible,” he said, describing an ambition to bring On’s approach “to the pitch, the pavement, and the runway.” It is a familiar playbook for the company: Roger Federer became an investor in 2019, then worked alongside its product team instead of merely lending his name to a campaign.
The move is also a pointed competitive signal. Evercore ISI analyst Michael Binetti called it “a direct challenge to Nike and Adidas,” which hold a near-monopoly in the category. Citi’s Paul Lejuez said football could expand On’s addressable market beyond the roughly $105 billion running category and into a global soccer market worth about $30 billion. Jefferies sees the same opening as U.S. running growth slows.
Investors registered the ambition without declaring victory. On shares rose modestly after the September 18 announcement, although they remain down roughly 40% this year, while Nike fell about 2% that day. The more durable wager is cultural: On is betting that one of football’s biggest stars can help it build a product, a category, and a credible new rival all at once.
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Kyle Duford, Founder & Editor, BRNDWIRE. More from Kyle →
