LIVERPOOL FC believe their new kit deal could help turn them into a £300million worldwide brand over the next six years.

It was confirmed yesterday that American sportswear firm Warrior have agreed to replace Adidas as the club’s shirt manufacturer until 2018, starting June 1 this summer.

Liverpool FC are guaranteed £25m per year under the terms of the deal, which is a record for a Premier League club.

But unlike the present agreement with Adidas, the Anfield outfit will have control over non-branded merchandising.

And Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre believes direct access to such a source of commercial revenue could double the eventual value of the deal with Warrior and propel the club among the real heavyweights in the world game.

“Our business is split in two,” said Ayre. “We have what you call kit, the branded products, the stuff the players wear and that’s the part of the business that the deal with Warrior covers.

“In our existing deal, there have been some restrictions on that in terms of the other unbranded products we sell, general retail.

“That sat within our deal with Adidas in certain lines and in certain markets. In our new deal, we have complete control of that.

“We will still work with Warrior, but we will have a much wider opportunity. That area of business currently represents 50% of everything we generate.

“The new deal represents half of what we currently generate, so we still have another opportunity to develop similar kind of revenues and that’s what encouraged us.”

Ayre added: “The way these deals are typically structured is that they are a mix of guaranteed revenues and royalties. It’s the same in near enough every kit deal I’ve seen.

“I’m happy that we delivered absolute value for a partner like Adidas and we will continue to deliver that value for Warrior.

“I don’t think it would surprise anyone to know that Liverpool are one of the biggest merchandising businesses in football.”

Because Liverpool now have full control over their merchandise – Warrior will only be producing the kit and none of the other clothing lines – they have the freedom to open club shops around the world.

And of the opportunity of a global network of club outlets, Ayre said: “It’s very possible. What we have to do is make sure we get that right.

“Having lived in some of the far-flung corners of the world, you have to get the balance right between a stand-alone Liverpool opportunity, an online opportunity and a partner-based opportunity.

“But the good thing is we have the flexibility to find the right solution in the right markets under this new deal.”

The deal with Warrior represents the company’s first foray into the lucrative Premier League market.

And Ayre believes such exclusivity was a major contributory factor to agreeing a link-up with the American company.

“Is it a gamble? Not really,” said the managing director. “There are two elements to it: on is that a large proportion of any English football club’s business comes from the UK and that’s a fairly defined distribution market.

“Then in the international market, Warrior, under the New Balance banner, are very well known and well established.

“What really encouraged us is that this is their first foray into football and so we are their only customer and they will be very focused on. Liverpool Football Club and promoting this opportunity around the world. That really encouraged us.

“We think we have changed a lot here over the last few years. We have  a different energy in terms of going global and reaching out and trying to capitalise on the size of the fan base we’ve got, so having a partner who has an equal ambition, we think that’s a good way to go.”