Sorry to say it, Liverpool fans, but it looks like Manchester City are going to take the title of Premier League champions once more.

Sure, there’s just a single point in at the moment, with nine matches left in the league, but City have the squad depth, and recent experience of winning a league title, that gives them the edge.

It was a good week for the Manchester outfit on the pitch, securing three points against Bournemouth whilst Liverpool could only draw with rivals Everton, but it was a massive week off the pitch.

PUMA and the City Football Group announced that they signed a global long-term partnership, starting in July of this year, that will see PUMA supply the reigning English Premier League champions.

Here’s Manchester City’s press release:

“PUMA’s partnership with City Football Group is the largest deal that we have ever done – both in scope and ambition,” said Bjørn Gulden, CEO of PUMA. “We are very excited to partner with City Football Group, whose success, ambition and drive for innovation has seen them setting new standards, on and off the field. We look forward to building the most innovative partnership in football by redefining the sports partnership model both on and off the pitch. We want to maximise on-field performance as well as football culture, in areas such as music, gaming and fashion to connect and inspire the fanbase of each team.”

The deal will also cover Melbourne City FC, Girona FC, Club Atlético Torque and Sichuan Jiuniu FC, supplying all representative teams including men’s, women’s and youth football, but the crown in the jewel remains the Premier League champs.

To celebrate the deal, the trio of Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Vincent Kompany all wore specialised boots during their match against Bournemouth.

Let’s start with club captain Kompany:

When we get in closer, you can see it reads “Best team in the land and all the world”:

On their day, it’s tough to argue

Then there are Silva’s boots, which simply read ‘Follow City’:

Finally, the man who scored the club’s most famous Premier League goal ever, Argentinian maestro Aguero:

Here’s a time that should be burnt into the memory of every City fan:

Fine, we’ll watch it one more time:

That really is an incredible moment.

PUMA and Manchester City combining makes sense, with the world’s leading sports brand and the might of Manchester City creating a formidable team.

You won’t get your hands on Sergio’s boots (unless you know people who know people), but you can keep up to speed with all of PUMA SELECT’s latest footwear releases here.

Here’s hoping we get a Premier League title race this year that also goes down to the wire.

[source:mancity]