Chelsea Football Club has secured the second-largest shirt sponsorship deal in English football history as the club bids to boost its transfer market war chest without falling foul of Financial Fair Play rules.
The English Premier League leader has agreed a five-year contract with tyre manufacturer The Yokohama Rubber Company, worth a reported £40m (US$62m, €55m) a year. The deal – running from the start of the 2015/16 season – will see the Yokohama brand appearing on all Chelsea FC shirts from the first team through to the youth teams.
The sponsorship deal is worth more than double the previous £18m (US$28m, €25m) agreement Chelsea had with Samsung and in English football history is second only to the £53m-a-year deal Manchester United secured with Chevrolet.
Chelsea FC manager Jose Mourinho has frequently complained about the paucity of his squad and is now widely believed to be seeking reinforcements in the summer transfer window, with £30m-rated Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane thought to be among these targets. Mourinho has so far had to sell off a number of big stars to fund acquisitions while staying with in Financial Fair Play regulations, so the commercial capital boost will no doubt embolden his transfer market ambitions.
The club is hoping to leverage its status as one of the world’s top teams to secure a number of sponsorship opportunities, having recently brought in
Christian Purslow as head of global commercial activities. Last season Chelsea FC was the most watched Premier League team on television worldwide, with over 31,000 broadcast hours, and Purslow has been tasked with driving the club's strategy to partner with "innovative and market-leading organisations" from around the world.
Reflecting on the shirt sponsorship deal, Chelsea chair Bruce Buck said: “We believe that Yokohama will play a key role in helping us drive our global expansion in international markets such as the US, where they have operated with distinction for many years.
“Chelsea and Yokohama are a perfect fit. Both are global organisations with a focus on performance and innovation, as well as having huge ambition and an unwavering culture of success.”
