Adidas boss Björn Gulden considers the successful offer from rival Nike for the supplier contract with the German Football Association (DFB) to be exaggeratedly high.

He understands why the DFB has awarded Nike the contract. "They got much, much more money," said Gulden at the Annual General Meeting in Fürth on Thursday. "You have to wait and see whether someone might pay too much. And then we laugh." The four-time world champion's contract with Adidas, which runs until 2026, was already the most lucrative in the industry.

According to media reports, Adidas has so far paid the DFB 50 million a year. Nike had offered around twice that amount. "It didn't make sense for us," said Gulden. However, he wondered why the DFB had decided so early. The DFB's separation from Adidas after more than 70 years, which was announced in March, had caused fierce criticism from the public and politicians.

(Report by Alexander Hübner, edited by Thomas Seythal. If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com)