Stefan Borson admits ‘big surprise’ over £35m Chelsea deal

It is a “big surprise” that Chelsea have failed to find a new company willing to pay £35-£40million to be their new front-of-shirt sponsor.

That is the view of finance expert Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider that top-flight clubs may struggle to find kit sponsors when the ban on gambling partners is introduced.

Chelsea are at risk of starting the league campaign with no front-of-shirt sponsor for a second successive season with their Infinite Athlete deal set to expire.

As revealed by Football Insider, Chelsea are in talks to extend and renew their Infinite Athlete deal after failing to find a new shirt sponsor over the summer.

Premier League clubs have voted to ban gambling sponsors on the front of kits from the 2025-26 season which will further narrow the market for sponsorship partners.

Chelsea struggle to find £40m sponsorship deals

Borson admitted that it is a “surprise” that Chelsea have struggled to find willing partners for a shirt sponsorship deal.

“I think it is going to be a big issue for a lot of clubs to find shirt sponsors when the ban on gambling partners eventually comes in,” Borson told Football Insider.

“You have to be quite a blue chip brand to be able to afford £40-£50million for a front-of-shirt sponsor and it is a relatively small market.

“But it is still a big surprise that Chelsea haven’t been able to find somebody to replace their shirt sponsorship.

“They’ve definitely been trying and we know they have lost out on Champions League football which does make a big difference.

“But you would have thought that it would have been easy for them to at least get a £35million deal with bonuses if they return to the Champions League.“

In other news, Chelsea could accept Raheem Sterling bid after new twist – sources

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The post Stefan Borson admits ‘big surprise’ over £35m Chelsea deal appeared first on Football Insider.