*UPDATED* PES 2021 Licences: New Teams, Inter Milan, Stadiums, Leagues, Rumours, Real Madrid & more

The lst few years have been tough on Pro Evo, but after obtaining the exclusive rights for Juventus on PES 2020 – things are looking up. After taking Juventus away from rivals EA & FIFA, will Konami be bringing any other big names to PES 2021?

Latest News – Inter Milan licence lost

With no concrete news from Konami around PES 2021 all summer, the first one is some bad news. Inter Milan will not be on PES 2021, after Konami stated that the Serie A giants will not be in the new game. It remains to be seen if they will replace Inter with another big licence.

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. They could look to make more clubs exclusive like Juventus. After losing the Inter Milan licence, could they focus on obtaining a new exclusive partnership with rivals AC Milan? The Italian top-flight is the only of Europe’s top-five leagues to not have a partnership with EA, with none of its clubs having private deals either.

Next Stop… Madrid?

Having for the crown of Juventus, and having a relationship with both the Milan clubs already, Italy looks to be a happy hunting ground for Konami. If Konami can land another high profile Spanish club to go alongside Barcelona this would be a hammer blow to EA Sports. A team like Atletico Madrid would be a huge statement, and in a league that has historically strong relationships with EA Sports. Rumours have surfaced that both Atletico and rivals Real Madrid could be fully licensed on PES 2021. READ MORE: PES 2021: Will Real Madrid be on PES 2021? This has come from plenty of legends from the Madrid clubs featuring as part of MyClub’s Iconic Moment Series on PES 2020.

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. There are rumours they have failed to agree on a renewal with Corinthians.

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, but they 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 after it appears they have stopped licensing Corinthians. 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