When Liverpool came to renegotiate their deal with Adidas early in Fenway Sports Group's reign at Anfield, the lack of on-pitch success was something that was hurting their negotiating position.
The 2011/12 season would be the final season for Liverpool and Adidas' partnership after a six-year run. But the Reds at the time they sought to renegotiate their deal with one of the biggest sports manufacturers in the world were coming into it struggling on the pitch.
That season Liverpool finished eighth and missed out on the Champions League, and it were almost two years without Champions League football. The early years of the Adidas partnership had seen Liverpool beaten finalists in 2006/07, semi-finalists in 2007/08 and quarter finalists in 2008/09.
Speaking in 2011, Adidas chief executive Herbert Hainer said: "The gap between their performance on the field and what the number should be is not in balance. Then we said, ‘Okay we will not do it. That’s the end of the story.
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"It all depends on the success and the effort and the popularity, the exposure on TV, revenue you can generate by merchandising. This all has to be brought in line between what you offer and what you get. We thought their asking and the delivering is not in the right balance."
Needing to play catch up with the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool went left field with their next move, linking up with the New Balance subsidiary sporting apparel firm Warrior. The move raised eyebrows given the US brand's very limited exposure in Europe prior to the link up with the Reds.
Having been agreed some months before, on January 18, 2012, the deal with Warrior was confirmed by both parties.
A six-year deal worth £25m per season saw FSG achieve closer to the kind of numbers they had been seeking from Adidas but that the German firm were not sold on.
Richard Wright, Warrior Sports' general manager said at the time of the announcement: "Our partnership with Liverpool FC, a football institution and recognised brand name across the world, is the perfect fit.
"Warrior Sports has ventured into football to bring our knowledge of making top level product to a new playing field. We are not the sort of brand that is going to keep our head down. We are here to shake up the world of football and our partnership with one of the most successful club teams of all time is just the start."
But while the deal was a commercial boost, the kits were not universally well received and the decision to move the symbol on the shirt that honoured those who lost their lives at Hillsborough from the front to the back of the shirt caused controversy and was branded 'insensitive'.
By 2015 the Warrior kits would become New Balance as the Boston firm entered the kit manufacturing market and rebrand all Warrior partnerships. That was a deal that happened rather organically, with Liverpool retaining New Balance for the next cycle up until 2020 with what was a 'club record' sum.
But the issue that Adidas had with Liverpool back in 2011, where they felt that the success on the pitch and the exposure that the club could give the brand globally weren't on a level with what Liverpool were seeking to get financially from the deal, that will have stuck with the deal makers at FSG.
In truth, when the New Balance renewal was struck there was little more success that had been achieved to really push the needle forward. Their last trophy was the League Cup in 2011/12 and while some ground had been made in the Premier League in terms of getting back into the Champions League after a second placed finish under Brendan Rodgers in 2013/14, their campaign back at Europe's top table ended rather dismally in the group stages and the following two seasons saw sixth and eighth placed finishes.
When the time came to seek a new kit partner for 2020 onwards the power had shifted from where it was 10 years previous, where they were able to engage the biggest sports brand on the planet.
Liverpool's desire to work with Nike had been so strong that they were willing to head to the High Court for a legal battle to end their relationship with New Balance, who had argued that they should have been able to activate a clause in their contract that would have automatically extended the deal with the Reds if New Balance matched an offer from elsewhere.
That was an argument rejected in the High Court as Nike, despite offering £10m less than New Balance were for a guaranteed sum each season at £35m, were able to offer 20 per cent royalties on the sale of Nike/Liverpool branded merchandise globally. And with the reach of Nike, both in retail and online, it was a deal that those within the club hope will take them close to the £75m per year that Manchester United receive from Adidas.
The bargaining position had changed. The Reds had a Champions League crown, a charismatic manager in Jurgen Klopp, a team at the peak of their powers and getting the better of the England and the rest of Europe and on their way to a first English league title in 30 years.
That £25m guaranteed sum back in 2012 has turned into a potential £50m uplift for Liverpool, and the strength of the relationship between FSG and Nike has never been stronger through the investment from the two firms in LeBron James and Maverick Carter's SpringHill Entertainment company, with both James and Carter already FSG partners.
But the success of the deal that they have in place has very much been achieved through being able to leverage the success that they didn't have 10 years ago when they were rejected by Adidas for not being successful enough and having enough appeal.
Liverpool are now the most marketable club in the Premier League, according to data, and their global appeal has never been greater. Success is vital to FSG being able to grow these kind of revenue streams, revenue streams that ultimately enable the club to invest in success. And with investment likely needed in the coming summer window, maintaining the level of performance that has arrived over the past three years is key. It's been transformative for the football club.
