Premier League giants Chelsea have reportedly been discussing a shirt sponsorship deal with newly founded Saudi Arabian airline Riyadh Air. Riyadh Air recently signed a long-term deal with La Liga side Atletico Madrid, becoming their main shirt sponsor.
Chelsea currently do not have a main shirt sponsor
Chelsea have been sporting blank home and away shirts this season after parting ways with their previous shirt sponsor, mobile telecommunications company Three. According to talkSPORT, the Blues were earning a handsome £40 million per year from their sponsorship deal with Three. However, the Todd Boehly-led consortium felt the Pensioners could earn much more with a fresh collaboration.
So, at the end of the 2022-23 season, Chelsea dropped Three and have been on the hunt for a new primary sponsor since. They came close to agreeing a deal with Paramount+. However, thanks to the Premier League’s intervention, the deal did not move forward. The Premier League decision-makers felt that Chelsea’s collaboration with Paramount+ would not sit well with NBC, the league’s official right-holders in the United States.
The Premier League giants then opened talks with Stake but eventually backed out after receiving backlash from fans. Bayern Munich’s sponsor, Allianz, also made an offer, but Chelsea found it to be inadequate.
Saudi Airline Riyadh Air could become Blues’ new sponsor
A month into the 2023-24 Premier League season, Chelsea have started holding talks with the new Saudi airline company Riyadh Air. According to a report from The Athletic, Chelsea executives, including CEO Chris Jurasek, welcomed Riyadh Air’s representatives to Stamford Bridge last weekend. Mauricio Pochettino’s men, however, failed to give them a show, succumbing to a hapless 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest.
It is believed that Chelsea invited Riyadh Air to become the front-of-shirt sponsor for both the men’s and women’s teams. A multi-year package was discussed that would see the West Londoners earn a sizable £60 million ($74.90 million) per year over the course of the partnership.
Riyadh Air is owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). PIF also serves as the majority owner of Newcastle United and is a prominent investor in Chelsea’s majority stake-holder Clearlake Capital. It will be interesting to see if Chelsea can wrap up the matter in-house and close a deal with Riyadh Air in the coming weeks.
