BlueCo in talks with Qatari, Saudi and three more firms for £600m deal that will fund Chelsea for 10 years
Chelsea have no shortage of investors. As well as Todd Boehly, Clearlake, umpteen BlueCo consortium members and a £500m loan from Ares, the club is backed by dozens of commercial partners.
Enzo Maresca’s side, who are 2nd in the Premier League and top of the Conference League table, are now enjoying the fruits of that investment.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LiverpoolLiverpool |
15 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 31 | 13 | 18 | 36 |
| 2 |  ChelseaChelsea |
16 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 37 | 19 | 18 | 34 |
| 3 |  ArsenalArsenal |
16 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 29 | 15 | 14 | 30 |
| 4 |  Nottm ForestNottingham Forest |
16 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 21 | 19 | 2 | 28 |
| 5 |  Man CityManchester City |
16 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 28 | 23 | 5 | 27 |
| 6 |  B’mouthBournemouth |
16 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 24 | 21 | 3 | 25 |
Chelsea’s commercial income was £210m in the last financial year, with the bulk derived from sponsors. Broadcast partners contributed a further £225m.
Input from the owners in the transfer market alone has been over £1bn. Wages since the BlueCo takeover in May 2022 are approaching double that figure.
That means Chelsea are a long way from making an operating profit, which is the ultimate long-term ambition of Boehly, Clearlake and everyone else in the ownership structure.
The owners have big ideas to claw back the expenditure so far, however.
Player trading is a major part of that masterplan, with Chelsea’s spending almost looking like a deliberate attempt to short-circuit the transfer market itself.
A complete rethink of the club’s commercial strategy – overseen by Todd Kline, Chelsea’s new commercial president – is also in process.
They have a comfortable lead over Arsenal in the commercial stakes but are some way Liverpool and the two Manchester clubs. Tottenham have a slender advantage over the Blues at present, but it is growing.
With PSR (Profit and Sustainability Rules) still a going concern regardless of BlueCo’s sales of the Stamford Bridge hotels and women’s team to themselves, it’s a situation that must be addressed.
The fact that Chelsea don’t have a shirt sponsor, which in a normal year is worth around 10 per cent of turnover, has therefore been an interesting subplot to an otherwise stellar season so far.
It isn’t revenue they can afford to forego. They simply don’t have that luxury.
Nike are not happy with Chelsea’s handling of the sponsor saga, with the American sportswear giant said to believe it has impact shirt sales.
However, there has been a positive update this week.
Could it be that, contrary to the narrative, the Blues’ strategy of waiting for the perfect partner has actually been a masterstroke?
Chelsea shirt sponsor latest: Negotiations with multiple brands underway
There is fine line between hesitancy and patience.
There is no doubt that Chelsea’s decision to wait until they receive an offer that matches their £60m-a-year asking price has had a material impact on cash flow and PSR this term.
Chelsea’s shirt sponsors through the years
| Years | Brand |
|---|---|
| 1983–1984 | Gulf Air |
| 1987–1993 | Commodore |
| 1993–1994 | Amiga |
| 1994–1997 | Coors |
| 1997–2001 | Autoglass |
| 2001–2005 | Fly Emirates |
| 2005–2015 | Samsung |
| 2015–2020 | Yokohama Rubber |
| 2020–2023 | Three |
| 2023–2024 | Infinite Athlete |
However, a new report from the Daily Mail suggests that their decision to stick it out could see Kline and his peers in the commercial department secure maximum value in the long term.
According to the outlet, Chelsea are in talks with three airlines and two tech companies over a deal that, thanks to Chelsea’s improved form on the pitch, promises to be extremely lucrative.
As has been reported elsewhere, TCC has established that Qatar Airways and Riyadh Air, the flag carriers of Qatar and Saudi Arabia respectively, are two of the three airlines alluded to.
The third is believed to be Turkish airlines, but that is not confirmed at this stage. The identities of the tech companies meanwhile are not known.
As is fast becoming the norm for the Premier League elite, Chelsea are seeking a 10-year-plus deal.
If their £60m asking price is met – with fixed and variable elements of the deal factored in – then that would be a £600m guaranteed income stream for Chelsea over the next decade.
Owners love certainty. It is one the elements of US franchise sport, where costs are capped and a more collaborative culture between teams in place, that the Boehly-Clearlake regime want to bring to football.
A 10-year deal would therefore be a major boon, even if it means they have sacrificed short-term income in 2024-25.
Significantly, it would probably be seen as validation of the owners’ left-field commercial strategy.
Chelsea among the clubs vying to secure what would be a potentially transformative collaboration with Nike’s Air Jordan Brand too.
If that comes to fruition, then the West London club would have even more leverage in negotiations with a potential front-of-shirt sponsor.
With a new shirt sponsor, will Chelsea avoid a PSR breach for 2024-25?
An extra £60m in commercial revenue per year would be a big win, but is it enough to get them out of the PSR hole they have dug for themselves?
Despite the owners’ insistence that they remain compliant with the rules, the margins are razor thin. UEFA’s system, which is tighter than the Premier League’s, is an issue in particular.
The Club World Cup could provide another £60m in income which, like the shirt deal, would be transformative. But the bulk of that benefit would be realised in the 2025-26 accounts, not this season.
Chelsea will be buoyed by the fact that UEFA appear only to be handing out piecemeal fines for clubs in contravention of their Financial and Sustainability Regulations., however.
And with the Premier League expected to introduce a new PSR system from next season, the club might choose to simply accept a fine or sporting sanction as part of the cost of their transitionary period.
Either way, it seems likely that Chelsea will look to bolster their position with player sales in January, with a handful of fringe players, as well as big earners like Ben Chilwell, among those expected to leave SW6.
And then there is the matter of the historic PSR offences that Boehly and Clearlake self-reported to the Premier League as part of the takeover process two years ago.
Those alleged breaches, which date back to the Roman Abramovich era, could, if further established and punished, could be far more significant. But that is a story for another time.
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