PES 2020 was the title that saw the Pro Evo bounce back with the exclusive deal for Juvenuts.
It doesn’t look as rosy this year, with Konami announcing PES 2021 will be a “Season Update”, so is there any hope for new licences?
Latest News
Konami have announced that Sao Paulo will be an official partner of PES 2021.
The likes of Dani Alves and Alexandre Pato will be available to play in the famed Morumbi stadium!
Read more about Sao Paulo here.
The news of Sao Paulo was swiftly followed by confirmation of Corinthians as a partner for PES 2021.
Read more about Corinthians here.
AC & Inter Milan licences lost
With no concrete news from Konami around PES 2021 all summer, the first one is some bad news.
It looks as if AC & Inter Milan will not be on PES 2021, after Konami stated that the Serie A rivals will not be in the new game.
There is a chance that Roma could be arriving in PES 2021, with EA confirming that the Italian side will not feature on FIFA 21.
Read more about Roma FC here.
Latest news – PES 2021 release date confirmed
The PES 2021 Season Update will arrive on 15 September.
It also has an especially favourable price of £24.99 for the Standard Edition, with team editions coming in at £29.99.
Real Madrid sign five-year extension with EA
There were rumours Real Madrid could be joing the Pro Evo franchise, but that has been quashed by a fresh new deal with EA.
EA has signed a five-year contract to be Real’s official gaming partner, ruling out the Spanish giants from moving to PES 2021.
Club Licences
Konami has always known not having licences were holding them back, with many players liking the gameplay but refusing to play with made-up names.
However, For PES 2020 they went after some high profile targets and whilst there are plenty of gaps, they achieved some big names.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about PES 2021
As you can imagine, this was a huge part of the launch strategy and they focused on Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Juventus and Manchester United.
These are without doubt four of the biggest clubs in the world and also meant they had Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo covered – the two best players on the planet.
Potential Newcomers?
There are a few angles for Konami to approach the licensing for PES 2021, but it is now looking unlikely that any new licences will be added.
If they do, Konami could look to make more clubs exclusive like Juventus.
The Bundesliga doesn’t even appear unlicenced in PES 2020 – with just three German clubs on the game – Bayern Munich, Schalke and Bayer Leverkusen.
Adding Borussia Dortmund, who were meant to appear on PES 2019 but pulled out late on, would provide another statement of intent.
Best of the Rest
Having licenced leagues is a nice touch, but seems slightly less important than the team’s licensing.
There’s a lot of complex and historic relationships to overcome, so we wouldn’t expect to see the Premier League, La Liga or Bundesliga follow any time soon.
The MLS fits the Konami approach but has a year left on its exclusivity deal with EA Sports.
READ MORE: What will FIFA 21 look like on PS5?
We wouldn’t expect to see any new league licences on top of what exists, as Konami will likely focus on getting higher profile team targets.
We do however expect they will continue to fully licence nearly all National teams in the way they have in PES 2020.
South American Charge
There seems to be a demand for South American teams that Konami was clever in tapping into.
READ MORE: Every single Club, National Team, Stadium and League in PES 2020
Given what is at stake, we fully expect Konami to renew all the major partnerships where possible.
League Licences
PES 2020 took the same approach to leagues as it did clubs.
Konami went after a couple of higher-profile targets whilst also hoovering up the smaller leagues where the fight wouldn’t be as tough.
The highest-profile league with a licence is Italy’s Serie A Tim, although the loss of both Milan clubs is a major blow.
hey also have the French Ligue 1 Conforama and Holland’s Eredivisie.
They have leagues in Turkey, Scotland, Denmark, Belgium and a lot of South America too.
Again, we would fully expect to see most of these continuing, although it will be interesting to see what happens with Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A and Serie B.
Not only that, but EA has stepped up its interest in South America with the acquisition of the Copa Libertadores for FIFA 20.
READ MORE: Everything we know about FIFA 21
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