The German Football Association (DFB) said yesterday that US sports goods firm Nike had offered 500 million euros as sponsor of the German national team amid a legal row over when the deal with current partner Adidas ends.

German firm Adidas has sponsored the German team since it won the first of its three World Cups in 1954.

The DFB said it would seriously consider Nike's offer for an eight-year deal worth six times more than the Adidas contract and started a legal dispute with the German firm over the duration of its current contract.

"I simply have to represent the DFB's interests and cannot just say I sell a product for a sixth of the price someone else is willing to pay," DFB president Theo Zwanziger told reporters after meeting top Adidas officials.

Sports goods firms such as Adidas, Nike and Puma are vying to supply the best soccer teams with their gear to raise brand awareness and sales of replica clothing.

Analysts have said losing the German team would be a blow to Adidas, whose one-time leadership of the market for soccer boots has come under heavy attack by Nike and Puma.

Nike already has five-time World champions Brazil under contract, while Puma is sponsoring 2006 champions Italy, leaving Adidas with Germany, Argentina and France as its major teams.

The German side has enjoyed close ties with Adidas since founder Adi Dassler, who used to sit on the German bench, helped win the 1954 title with his revolutionary screw-in studs.

Adidas said in a statement it had held constructive talks with the DFB and still assumed its sponsorship deal would last until 2014. Chief Executive Herbert Hainer has said the firm did not want to enter a bidding war with Nike, the world's largest maker of sport gear.

Adidas is currently in the midst of a revamp of its ailing US firm Reebok and said in November it had to invest more in the brand to fight sinking sales.

In a sign of strained relations between the partners, Zwanziger said the DFB was in dispute with Adidas over the duration of its current contract, assuming it would end in 2010 and not in 2014 as Adidas had previously expected.

Both sides had held talks in summer over an extension until 2014 but Zwanziger said they reached no final deal.

In August, the DFB said both sides had agreed to extend the deal until 2014, pending clarification of details after players staged a mutiny and secured the right to play in the shoes of their individual sponsors.

Adidas said it would continue its talks with the DFB after having examined the expert opinion.

Adidas shares have lost almost 3 per cent since the start of the year, making them one of the worst performers on the benchmark DAX index, which some traders have attributed to repeated media reports it might lose its DFB contract.

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